Straying Into a Dream
by Taurnlaide and Tarien
Summary: SEQUEL to Detour to Destiny.Sarah, Shelly, Mike, and Cody are out of their world. What will happen now?
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: We do not own LotR, nor anything else mentioned in this story save the OCs,nor did we ever claim to do so.

Authoress's Notes:  
SARAH: This story was pulled from FFN due to inclusion of (credited!) song lyrics, and "abuse" of the review-reply system, WHICH WAS NOT IN PLACE WHEN WE INCLUDED REPLIES WITHIN CHAPTERS.

Long story short, we've moved to a site that isn't so restrictive in such matters. This is here as a hint of what happens, but from now on, ALL NEW UPDATES WILL BE AT THE URL GIVEN IN OUR PROFILE. 

Hopefully our reviewers haven't abandoned us and will follow us to the new site--where, as of this posting, D2D is up in its entirety and SID is going up. We'll be posting the already-posted chapters as quickly as possible, then the updates will continue at their regular rate.

Chapter One--Pursuing It With Eager Feet  
Sarah POV

When I woke up, I found I was lying flat on my back, staring up at a clear sky, every bit as blue as Frodo's eyes. I sat up and looked around. Shelly, Mike, and Cody were all lying nearby, and our packs were all lying together. Surveying the scenery, I could tell we were NOT where we had left from. I looked carefully, hoping to recognize something. Over to my right were mountains, and I saw a dwarf-style door carved in one. Off to my left were vast expanses of forest.

I let out a squeal. We were all alive, in one piece, and we were EXACTLY where we wanted to be! "Shelly!" I called. "Wake up! We're HERE!"

Shelly sat up, blinking. She was facing me, sitting a few feet away. She shook her head. "Where, exactly?"

"Outside Moria. Lothlórien is that way," I said, pointing.

At last she looked up at me and instantly frowned. "Sarah?"

"Hmm?"

"Your hair is curly."

"What?" I reached up to run my fingers through my hair and found that it was, indeed, curly. I frowned. "Maybe it's the humidity or something," I said. "It's not like they're really tight curls." I couldn't figure that out, my hair had always been straight.

Shelly nodded. "Kinda more like waves. But still, that's really weird." She turned her face to look over at the guys, who were still out.

I gasped. iWhat is going on here/i "Shell?"

"What?"

"Shell, touch your ears."

She frowned, but did so. "Um, Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"Are they--"

I nodded. "Pointed. Your ears are SOOO pointed."

Her face paled. "Pull back your hair," she said, and I complied, pulling it away from my ears. "You, too!" she said.

I felt the color drain from my face as well. What if it didn't work right? What if this was all wrong? "Shelly, let's get the guys up," I said. I was hoping that Mike might have an explanation.

She nodded, fright written all over her face, and we both stood at the same time.

Suddenly I realized that she'd been sitting further from me than I'd thought. I looked up at her face--WAY up! "Shelly!" I yelled, making her look over at me. "Are you tall or am I short?" I asked. My eye level was suddenly even with her waist--and I was supposed to be an inch taller than her!

"I think you're short," she said.

We just stared at each other for a moment, the wheels going a million miles an hour in our minds. Suddenly I plopped back down to the ground and hastily started ripping off my shoes.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Remember the Hobbits and Gimli were normal height in our world?" I asked.

"Yeah...?"

I had gotten my right shoe off and peeled off my sock. I stared in awe at my foot for a moment before sticking it up in Shelly's direction. "Shelly, look!" I cried excitedly. "Look!"

She knelt to look closer. "You have Hobbit feet!" she yelled. Sure enough, my feet had a layer of soft curls over them.

"More than that, Shell--I'm a Hobbit! Pointy ears, curly hair, fuzzy feet--I'm a Hobbit!" I was pulling off my other shoe by then.

She blinked, letting that soak in.

I got my other shoe off and stuck my feet out in front of me, wiggling my toes. "I'm a Hobbit! I'm a Hobbit!" I said in a sing-songy voice. I tilted my head, suddenly cracking up. "I won't be taller than Frodo! He should like that!" It hadn't crossed my mind until that second, but it still seemed like good news to me.

Shelly's eyes were distant. "My ears are pointy?" she asked, wishing me to reaffirm it, which I did.

"Yeah. And now that I look at you, your hair's a little different. Your bangs are longer, like you've been growing them out." I studied her closely. "Actually, it's ALL longer. You just look a little different, Shell. Like...older. Not like you've aged, but like you're more mature. Not that you're immature..."

She took that all in, and finally whispered, "Sarah...I think I'm an Elf."

My eyes widened. "Shell?"

She nodded. "It's harder to prove, though. With the Hobbit thing you're all short and you have the feet and different hair, apparently my ears are just pointy..."

I looked back over to the dwarven door. "Shelly, describe that door to me."

She looked over at it. "What?"

"Just do it!"

She frowned, looking over at it. "Well, it's square and there's a fancy carving around it and I think there's some inscription on it, but it's all dwarf letters so I can't read it."

"There's an inscription?" I asked, squinting.

"Yeah."

I smiled. "So that's what your Elf-eyes see. Shelly, welcome to the race of the Eldar."

She looked back at me, wide-eyed. "That's right!"

I smiled. "Well, if you can see that far, I bet it means..." I stood. "That I can do this!" I ran across the ground, oblivious to the rocks beneath my feet. I couldn't feel a single thing. It really was just like having shoes on.

Shelly watched. "Wow."

I laughed aloud. "You can have my shoes," I said. "They may be a little big on you but I certainly won't be needing them anymore!"

She laughed, too. "You know what this means, right?"

"I get Frodo and you get Legolas and no one's going to freak out about them marrying humans, right?"

"Right!"

Suddenly Cody and Mike were both awake, sitting up and shaking their heads. "What's going on?" Cody called. "Are we there?"

"I'm a Hobbit!" I called, bounding over to them, letting them see how tall--or not tall--I was. "Check out these FEET!" I giggled.

They both stared at me. "Sarah?" Cody asked, eyebrow askance.

I nodded. "Yup. I woke up like this."

"I'm an Elf!" Shelly called, walking over. I watched, and there was a certain grace in her step that hadn't been there before. She definitely had an Elvish demeanor about her. She pulled her hair back from her ears to let the guys have a good look. "I can see better, I think I can hear better, and my ears are pointy."

They nodded. "And you woke up that way?" Mike asked.

We nodded in return. I shrugged. "I mean, it kind of makes sense, think of how tall the Hobbits and Gimli were in our world."

Cody nodded. "Makes sense to me."

"But how does it know that you love Frodo and Shelly loves Legolas and what race to make you?" Mike asked, a little bit frustrated.

I shrugged. "Science can't explain everything," I said. "So I guess we oughta just start for the forest. I mean, I imagine someone, Haldir if we're lucky, will find us and take us to Caras Galadon."

"You sure it's the right forest?" Cody asked.

I pointed to the dwarf-door in the other direction. "Pretty sure. Now come on, the closer to the forest we get, the better I'll feel. There IS a possibility that orcs could find us here, especially if they're still looking for the Fellowship."

Mike nodded and stood to his feet. "Let's go."

Shelly had walked over to my shoes and used the laces to tie them to the handle of her bag. "Come on."

Cody stood, we all shouldered our packs, and started in the direction of the forest. We all kept unusually quiet, gawking at the scenery. Middle-Earth as portrayed in Peter Jackson's films is gorgeous. Middle-Earth for real is ten times better than on any movie screen.

Soon, however, I realized that I was taking two steps to everyone else's one, and that I was starting to lag behind. I tried to keep up, but it was hard. At last I asked, "Hey, guys, you wanna slow it down a little? Any faster and I'll have to run!"

They turned and looked at me, ten feet or so behind.

Mike laughed. "Are you sure you're so happy to be a Hobbit?" he asked.

I scowled. "Just wait until you see me and Frodo together, you'll know it's right," I said.

"And what business do you have with Frodo of the Shire?" a voice spoke, seemingly out of nowhere. Instinctively, the four of us clustered together.

Suddenly, who should appear but Haldir and his Elven patrol? My eyes widened at the sight of the ten blond Elves before us, but none of us said anything. I could barely believe it was Haldir--I wasn't expecting us to be lucky enough to meet someone I recognized.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he asked tersely.

I sighed. No one else was going to talk, and since I was the best with old-fashioned speech anyway, I stepped forward. "We are friends of Frodo, and of the Fellowship. We come now hoping to see them again."

Haldir frowned. "From whence do you come?"

"Very far away. We've sacrificed much to come here, and we would like to get to Caras Galadon without delay if the Fellowship is still there." I paused. "We are well aware of the Fellowship and its errand."

Haldir seemed to size us up then. Luckily he didn't see anything that made him signal the Elves to draw their bows. "Another halfling, two Men, and an Elf of Rivendell?" I nodded. iWow, he can count/i I thought. I guess he assumed Shelly was from Rivendell because of her dark hair. All the Lothlórien elves and probably all the Mirkwood elves were blond. He frowned. "These are dark days, and knowledge of the Fellowship does not necessarily mean you are allies. I must know more. What are your names?" he asked me.

"I'm Sarah. The Elf is Shelly, and the two guys back there are Cody and Mike. Cody's the one with curls in his hair."

He nodded. I wasn't gaining any points.

"We are all connected to the Fellowship," Mike said. "We have our friends among them, and the Council of Elrond brought the four of us together. Cody and I are men of Bree, and though Shelly is an Elf, she was raised there as well. Her parents were killed when she was very young. We know Strider, while Sarah is a friend of the Hobbits. Through knowing them we have come to know the whole Fellowship."

Haldir nodded, accepting this. He probably assumed that we had been at the Council, or at least in Rivendell when it happened, but the way Mike had worded it left that open to interpretation. It wasn't a lie, either, if not for the Council we would not likely be there, together, at that moment, and the four of us had grown closer to each other as a result of hosting the Fellowship.

Haldir nodded. "And you come to see the Fellowship now...?"

"Trust me, they will be most glad of our presence." I smiled up at him. "We come bearing messages for the Ringbearer and the Prince of Mirkwood." I dropped the name Ringbearer in hopes of reinforcing the idea that we really did know what the Fellowship was doing.

Haldir finally nodded. "All right. The Lady will decide what is to be done with you."

I smiled gratefully and bowed as elegantly as I could for a first attempt. I would have curtsied, but obviously I was in jeans. "We are MOST grateful, Marchwarden."

"I will be escorting you to Caras Galadon."

I smiled widely, both at that we were on our way and were relatively safe with Haldir and his patrol, and because he sounded vaguely like a waiter. "Great! Let's not linger, then!" I turned to Cody, Mike, and Shelly. "Come on!"

They all just looked at each other and started following.

Haldir led, and I walked alongside him, knowing he probably had questions. He smiled just a little. "You are not attired like anyone I have ever seen--and I have seen many peoples on this earth."

I nodded. "I thought as much. We prefer these clothes for travel," I said. "Though we do wear them, Shelly and I did not bring gowns, because our space is limited."

"I'm sure the Lady will provide you with some."

I turned to Shelly. "Did you hear that? We get Elvish dresses!" I was not quite as excited as I pretended to be, but I was curious about their different fabrics and all. Arwen and Galadriel never looked uncomfortable, so maybe their dresses were easier to wear, somehow.

Shelly stayed in character perfectly. "Sarah, that's nothing new for me."

I smiled. "Right. But it is for me!"

She smiled back. "Silly halfling."

"Haughty Elf."

We both giggled, confusing Haldir again. "This is indeed a strange friendship," he said.

I shrugged. "Between the four of us? Yes, we're definitely an oddity here."

"How far is it?" Cody asked. I noticed he didn't even TRY to remember the name of the place.

"Approximately a day and a half walk," Haldir said, "If we stop to camp tonight, we should be in the presence of the Lady before the midday meal tomorrow."

At the moment I was ready to walk straight there, because I was so ready to see my dear Frodo again, but I knew I'd feel differently in a few hours after we'd been walking. At least weapons training had toughened us a little. The walk never got tedious, though, and I was thrilled when we passed elanor and niphredil blossoms. "May I take one elanor flower?" I asked Haldir. "I'd like to press it and keep it."

He smiled. "You may take more than one. Just don't be greedy."

I took three blossoms and placed them in my copy of Fellowship of the Ring at the page where they find the flowers in the story. My idea was that if everything came true and I ended up with Frodo, I'd be there when Sam's first daughter was born, and I could surely make a present of the pressed flowers somehow.

I smiled as we kept walking. Middle-Earth was already seeming inviting.

A/N: As I said, if you want to keep reading, go to our profile and go to the site listed as our homepage. 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So I decided to go ahead and post the rest of Straying into a Dream on FFn. I will have to edit some chapters and take out song lyrics and such in order for us to remain on the site. We don't own LOTR, if we did we'd be lots richer. Please review:)

Chapter Two--

Shelly POV

I could not believe it had actually worked. I was walking through Middle Earth and I WAS AN ELF! It was completely unbelievable.

When we met Haldir, I fell silent. As we walked, I began to think of the song I knew Legolas had sung as he and the Fellowship walked. We must have been walking for a while, because Mike and Cody were slowing down considerably. They had always been stronger than me, but I was not even fatigued. I noticed Sarah was picking some elanor flowers, and I knew she was thinking of Sam and Rosie's first daughter. I began to walk with Haldir. The Marchwarden of Lórien had always fascinated me.

"Thank you for everything, Marchwarden," I said quietly. "We truly appreciate it, but the Men and Halfling grow weary. Will we be stopping soon?"

Haldir said something in Elvish, but I did not know what.

"I'm sorry, I do not speak Elvish," I said.

He turned to me, rather shocked. "How is that possible?" he asked, in Westron this time.

"As Mike told you, I was raised by humans and they did not speak Elvish, either."

"But, why did you not learn in Rivendell?" he asked.

"I had other things occupying my time," I said, smiling, fighting a blush.

"Such as the Mirkwood Prince," Haldir said, noticing the ring on my finger.

"Yes," I answered quietly, thinking of seeing him the next day. "I have missed him terribly."

"Well, to answer your question, we will be stopping in a few minutes to stay in a flet. I do not think the Halfling will hold out much longer," Haldir said. We walked about another half-mile or so and suddenly, Haldir stopped. "We will sleep here for the night," he announced, pointing up into a tree.

"I cannot climb that," I said, "It is too high."

"Certainly you can, just try," Mike said confidently.

"If you don't want to, don't," Cody said.

"Okay, I'll do it, but if I break my neck, Legolas will kill you," I said, looking at Mike.

Haldir looked at me curiously and then recited what must have been a password in Elvish, because a rope ladder came tumbling down. "Do you think you can climb that?" he asked.

"Oh," I said. "Yes, I suppose so."

We were soon standing on a flet, which looked a lot like a giant treehouse with no walls. Soon Haldir, Cody, and Mike had climbed up, followed by Haldir's troop of ten or so Elves.

The guys and Sarah quickly laid down and went to sleep, and most of the Elves at least laid down. I, on the other hand, was liking not needing rest. I made my bed and laid down until they were asleep. Then I got up and went to my duffel and pulled out a picture of Legolas and me.

"I'll be there soon, mellamin," I whispered, looking into Legolas' gorgeous blue eyes.

"I thought you could not speak Elvish," I heard a voice behind me say.

"I know that word only because Legolas taught it to me," I said, quickly putting the picture back into my bag and walking over to where the Marchwarden sat on watch.

"Is that all the Elvish you know?" he asked.

"No, I also know that hannon le means thank you, and mellon means friend. That's about all, though."

"I would have thought that Legolas would teach you more Elvish if you are to be his bride," Haldir said.

"Well, he has not officially asked me. He thought I would return to Bree after he left and he would never see me again. He gave me his ring to remember him by," I said, trying not to lie too much.

"He now wears a necklace underneath his tunic, did you give that to him?" Haldir asked suddenly.

"Yes, I had not planned to come after him, but I cannot live without him. I only hope he feels that way about me," I said.

"I believe he does, milady," Haldir said. "He has been very melancholy since arriving in Lothórien this time. Frodo seems to have been, as well, though I do not know him well yet and mayhap he is like that always. But are he and the lass...involved?"

"Yes, they are. I've never seen any two creatures more perfect for each other than those two," I said.

"If this is too personal, milady, you do not have to answer it, but why did you not merely wait for the Prince in Rivendell?" Haldir asked.

"No, it's not too personal. I had a vision that it would be quite some time before he comes back to Rivendell, if indeed he ever does."

"Why did he believe he would never see you again?" Haldir asked, suddenly more suspicious.

"Because we discussed it, and we believed his father would not want him to marry an Elf that did not even know who her parents were. Really, it was my decision, not Legolas'. Although we both did hope we would see each other again."

"Then why are you here, if you can never marry him?"

"I cannot live without him, that is all. I have to see him again. I must explain that I changed my mind about...something."

There was a long pause then. At last he said, "The resemblance is rather amazing."

"What resemblance?" I asked him, confused.

"You look very much like the Lady Arwen, only your hair is longer and your eyes are brown. You are also quite a bit younger than her, but it is almost like looking a younger version of her."

"Thank you, Marchwarden. That is a high compliment indeed. I'm sure that I would only pale next to the Evenstar."

"You are modest as well as beautiful. I see what Legolas would like about you," Haldir said, with a small smile on his face.

"Marchwarden, is that a smile I see?" I asked, teasingly.

"No." He quickly changed back to his regular emotionless face. "By the way, you should call me Haldir."

"Only if you will cease with the 'milady' and call me Shelly," I said. "I would not even let the Fellowship call me milady."

"I can imagine you would not...Shelly," Haldir said.

"Thank you."

"Those Men you travel with are from Bree as well?" Haldir asked, pointing to Cody and Mike.

"Yes, I have known them since they were children," I said. Haldir and I continued to talk until the sun rose the next morning.

"Good morning, Shelly," Sarah said, walking over to Haldir and I. "Were you up all night?" she said, shocked. Back home, I was the first one to go to bed.

"Yes. You know I do not require sleep," I said. "Plus, I had an interesting discussion with our Marchwarden here."

Haldir turned to me, "We must leave shortly, I will wake the Men."

"No, let us," I said, getting an evil idea. I walked over them and saw their shoes lying on the floor next to them. I walked to the end of their mats and slowly reached under the covers and began tickling their feet.

"STOP IT!" I heard Mike yell. Perhaps he only said it loudly, but to my new sensitive hearing it was really loud. I stopped, but noticed Cody's lump had still not moved. I noticed the water Haldir had brought up a few minutes before, in two buckets. I looked over at Sarah and picked up one of them. She grinned, knowing exactly what I was about to do. Haldir watched me with a confused look on his face. I walked over to Cody.

"Cody, wakey, wakey." When I received no response, I pulled back the covers and dumped the water on him.

Cody jumped up shrieking. "Why did you do that, Shelly?" Cody said, in a low and angry voice.

"Haldir says it's time to go," I said, grinning.

"Oh, well, why didn't you say so?" Cody said.

"Figured you wouldn't listen," I said, picking up my bag and heading for the trapdoor. "Ready, Haldir?"

We climbed down the tree and Haldir gave us some lembas.

"What is this stuff?" Cody asked, eating a whole piece.

"Lembas, elvish waybread," Sarah quoted without thinking. "One small bite is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man."

"How did you know that?" Haldir asked.

"Umm...I think I read it somewhere...or maybe Legolas told me. I don't know," Sarah grinned, innocently.

"This stuff ain't half bad," Mike said, taking a much smaller bite.

Soon we set off again. As we walked, Haldir walked beside me. "How is it that last night we talked as mature elves, but this morning you act no better than a small child? How old are you?" he asked.

"I am young at heart, and that is all that matters."

"You cannot be much older than one hundred," Haldir asked, still trying to get my real age out of me.

Suddenly, Sarah appeared by my side. "She'll be one hundred on her next birthday. Won't you, Shelly?" she asked, sounding more and more hobbitlike every second.

"A lady never reveals her age, Sarah Ebort," I said. She merely grinned and I fell back with Mike and Cody. "So how did you sleep last night, guys?" I asked.

"Like a rock, I haven't been this tired since before we met the Fellowship," Mike said.

"I slept peacefully. That is until someone poured water on me," Cody said, turning to me with a mock glare.

"Ohhh, I'm scared now," I said, laughing.

"You should be," and with that he started to chase me. Now that I was an elf, I could outrun him easily and did. Suddenly, I came to a clearing and stopped suddenly at the sight before me. Haldir came up behind me.

"Welcome to Caras Galadon, home of Lord Celeborn and the Lady Galadriel."

With my elvish eyes, I could make out some lights in the wood. We continued walking and finally began to climb the steps that led to Galadriel and Celeborn. It felt just like the movie, as Galadriel and Celeborn walked out to greet us.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three--

Sarah POV

I loved the flet. When we were on top of it I walked to the edges and looked over to see how high up we were. It's a curious thing about heights; they always look further up when you're at the top looking down than at the bottom looking up.

One of the patrols said something in Elvish to Haldir, and Haldir relayed it to me. "Milady," he said, "Of my men, I am the only one who speaks the Westron, but Luinaelin wishes me to point out that the other halflings were nervous about the heights, and we all find it strange that you dare to wander so close to the edge, unless the halfling lasses are vastly different from the lads."

I smiled. "No, you had it right the first time. I'm not quite like most Hobbits--ask the other Hobbits when we get there tomorrow, they'll tell you." _Other Hobbits._ Already I was thinking of myself differently, but then walking among people twice your height will do that to a person. "Tell him I think his name is pretty."

Haldir relayed that back, which made the Elf in question smile and nod at me, and I smiled and nodded back at him. Haldir then told me, "It means 'blue pool' in our tongue."

I bit back a smile, remembering when we'd confused the Fellowship with the modern definition of the word pool.

We settled down quickly--the sun had started fading not long after we pulled the ladder up after us--and I was soon asleep, without fears of falling off the edge. Apparently my mind was still mainly human. In my last moments of consciousness I began to wonder just exactly which pieces of my human-ness I would retain and what would become Hobbit. Would I soon start craving six meals a day? Preferring green and yellow to my longtime favorite, purple? Liking mushrooms?

We didn't stay long after we woke up Cody and Mike, and that was just fine with me. The sooner I got to Frodo and got to explain myself, the better.

The lembas was good, though I brilliantly revealed that I knew what it was by quoting Orlando Bloom's "Lembas commercial." Mike's assessment was right--the stuff wasn't half-bad. Of course it was Elvish, and Elves weren't capable of making anything bad, as I'd told Shelly a few weeks before, standing in her kitchen eating salsa and chips, watching the Fellowship.

Had that REALLY only been less than three weeks before?

We plodded along all day, and whenever no one was talking to me and helping occupy my mind, I did notice that I was a little bit stiff from walking all the day before, so I tried to keep talking to someone. It would have been easier if Haldir wasn't the only Elf who spoke Westron, but I reminded myself that we were lucky that the Westron was more or less English. _Except for words like pool, _I thought, giggling to myself.

Suddenly Shelly and Cody raced by me, and looking at where we were going, I saw that we were about to emerge into a clearing. When we got to the edge of the forest, Haldir told us where we were. "Welcome to Caras Galadon, home of Lord Celeborn and the Lady Galadriel."

It wasn't very long until we were under the trees, in that mesmerizing blue-tinted world. Haldir dismissed his patrol to go do whatever it is that they liked to do for fun, since apparently they were now off-duty. When we started climbing steps, I realized that our entry was going to be exactly like the Fellowship's.

Then--there we were, on a large landing, and Galadriel and Celeborn were walking down to us. I was awed by the sight. She really does give off this glow--not like a lightbulb or anything, but the room is never quite dark if she's there.

"Strangers from distant lands," she greeted us, and I smiled, remembering Elrond saying that at his Council.

We all took our cue from Haldir and bowed. When he straightened up, he announced, "My Lady, these are wanderers I found at our borders. They claim to know the Fellowship."

She nodded ever so slightly, her smile a mystery in that we had no idea what she was happy about. "I know who they are. I know from whence they come, their world with all its magical devices," she said. "I know all too well, for I have spoken much with the Ringbearer and the Prince of Mirkwood."

Shelly and I flushed at that.

"You may go, Haldir. I wish to discuss some things with them privately."

Haldir nodded curtly and left the four of us to our fate.

Galadriel extended her hand, and led us off to a small chamber where she sat down in an ornately-carved chair and motioned for us to sit in other, plainer chairs, which we did. We were all facing her as she addressed us. "I was expecting two girls of the race of Men."

"We were, once," I said. "When we arrived in this world we were like this."

Galadriel nodded. "I see."

"The Hobbits were as tall as Men in our world," Mike offered. "And the Dwarf, too."

Galadriel leaned back in her chair, taking this in. "I do not know why this is, only that it is meant to be this way."

She started looking us over, and suddenly I heard her voice in my head! I don't know why I was surprised, but it caught me off guard. _So your love for the __Ringbearer__ has made you a Halfling. Does this please you?_ I said nothing, but apparently she could tell my answer was in the affirmative. _That is good._ She seemed to hesitate. _I told Elrond of Rivendell that the Quest would claim Frodo's life, but since you have arrived, I can no longer see his end, whether it __be__ good or ill._

I had not lowered my eyes at any point, and now I could feel the defiance creeping into them. As she could read my thoughts, I decided to try and form a sentence back at her. I paraphrased a Bible verse. _All things work together for good, for those that are called according to the purpose of __Illuvatar_

She lifted one perfectly arched eyebrow but said no more to me telepathically.

"Tell me your names," she said.

Shelly introduced us all, and then repeated to Galadriel what we had told Haldir about ourselves.

"That was wise," Galadriel said. "I know your story, and I would counsel you to tell it truly only to those whom you know you can trust. Come, now," she said, rising to her feet. "I know you wish to see the Fellowship more than anything else, but I would first see you all properly attired."

"You mean, you are going to give us clothes?" Shelly asked.

"Yes, unless you have some among your things," Galadriel said, waving a hand towards our bags with an air that revealed that she didn't think we did--which was true.

We were taken first to the two talans where we would be staying, so we could deposit our bags. Shelly and I had a very large one that was actually more than one "room"--there was a small, completely private changing-room and our beds were each fairly private. After that it was off to some Elven seamstresses, who soon had Mike, Cody, and Shelly outfitted in Elven clothes.

Mike and Cody actually looked pretty good. Mike was in iron gray, and Cody in silvery white, all styled like the clothes Legolas wore in this part of the movie.

"You know," Shelly told them, "Elven styles suit you. If I wasn't already hopelessly in love with the man of my dreams, and didn't know what your personalities were like, I might actually be vaguely attracted to you two right now."

"Ditto," I said.

"I think we were just insulted in a compliment," Mike told Cody.

Cody nodded. "No kidding. But I think I could get used to this. It looks all fancy but it's the most comfortable thing I've ever worn."

However, it was Shelly who was truly stunning. She was wearing a gown of deep midnight blue with silver trim that fit her perfectly, and suited her complexion wonderfully. One of the seamstresses was also adept at arranging hair, and had put fancy little knots up in the top part of Shelly's hair and let the rest hang down, and the ends actually curled up a little now. Despite the fact that the seamstress complained about not having any jewelry for her, Shelly suddenly looked slightly otherworldly--very Elven.

"Wow," I said. "Shell, do you realize you're dressed just like Arwen?"

She blushed a little. "I've never felt this pretty, even for prom."

I laughed. "Legolas is going to like this."

At that she turned to Galadriel, who had been overseeing the whole process. "May I go to him now?" she asked.

Galadriel smiled. "He will be near the fountains. Ask anyone you meet and you'll find him quickly."

Shelly smiled and went off as fast as she could, skirts swishing around her ankles.

Cody and Mike agreed not to spoil the fun of telling the Fellowship we were here, and Galadriel took them off to find Haldir so he could show them around.

I had to wait forever, because they had to alter a child's dress to fit me. It wasn't like with the others who fit into the clothes that were already there.

While they were busy sewing, I found a mirror and studied myself for the first time. I had never been a mirror hog, but I'd been through an extreme makeover and had yet to see the results--though I didn't look as drastically different as I'd thought I might. I was shorter, of course, and the feet were different, but that I knew. The first things I studied were my pointy ears and smiled widely on seeing them. I really liked that part.

My face looked kind of different to me, but then I reached up and pulled back the waves into a hand-ponytail. My face hadn't changed at all, really, it was just the new haircut that made it look different. I let my hair back down and shook it out, and looked at myself. I wasn't sure I'd have recognized myself with the new hair, and I wasn't sure Frodo would, either. I decided to give him a chance to recognize me before I gave myself away.

At last, right after Galadriel got back, they were finished and I slipped the dress on. It came to my ankles, unlike the traditional Shire dress, but oh well, I liked it. It was purple, like I'd asked for. That was all I really cared about if they were going to take away my jeans. I didn't waste time staring at the DRESS in the mirror, but turned to Galadriel, who was giving me an approving look. "All right, now that I'm decent, I MUST see Frodo. The last time he saw me I was twice this height and had straight hair. I need to talk to him."

Galadriel smiled at my impatience. "All right, child. I just spoke with him and told him to wait where he was." She gave me directions and I took off running.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four--

Shelly POV

I could not believe how kind Galadriel was. When she sent us to go and get "properly attired," I had my first chance to look in a mirror since we arrived. I had put my hair into a ponytail while we were walking, but now that my hair was down, I could see it went almost to my waist. The longer I looked at myself, the more I could not believe it. _It's true, child._ I was still rather uncomfortable with her voice in my head, but she only talked like that every once in a while.

After I was dressed and had my hair done, the Lady told me I could go and find Legolas by a nearby fountain. I practically ran out of the room, but once outside, I began to walk as elvishly as I could. I ran into Haldir. "Hello, Haldir."

He turned at the sound of my voice. "You look beautiful, Shelly," he said, very quietly.

"Thank you, Haldir. Now, until I tell you differently, please call me 'milady' again. I wish to surprise Legolas," I said, in explanation.

"Very well, milady. I believe I saw Legolas over there." He pointed down by a fountain. "I could escort you if you wish."

"Yes, thank you, Haldir," I said, taking his arm as he led me to the fountain.

Once we reached it, I saw my Prince. He was looking down into the fountain as if it should hold the answers to all of his questions. No matter how hard I tried, I could not take my eyes off of him.

"Hello, Legolas," Haldir said.

"Hello, Haldir. Who's your friend?" Legolas said, trying to force conversation.

I had covered his ring with my hand. I had to see if he would recognize me. "Someone with a message for the Prince of Mirkwood," I said, in my most authoritative voice.

"Very well, come. You may deliver the message to me as I walk. Is it from my father?" he said, as we walked into one of the gardens.

"No, your Highness," I said, "I bring you a message from the one you love most."

He turned and looked at me. "That would be impossible, as the one I love most has been left in her world," he said.

"Has she?" I asked.

He turned and studied my face. "Why, it cannot be. She is lost to me," he said, unbelieving.

"Is she really?" I held out my hand, which bore his ring.

"Mellamin, is it really you?" Legolas said, looking at the ring. "I've dreamt of this day in my heart, but never did I believe it would arrive."

"It is me, my prince."

At those words, Legolas pulled me to him and kissed me with all the passion he had built up since he left me.

"How, dearest?" he said, once the need for air had forced us apart.

"Mike allowed us to come back the same way you did," I said, as he led me to a bench.

"If I ever see him again, I must thank him."

"Don't worry, he and Cody came with Sarah and I," I told him. "But none of that matters right now, I must know many things. How long have you been in Lothlórien?"

"Three days," he said, smiling slightly. "And I've missed you for all of them." He took my hand and brushed his lips across it. "Now, my turn to ask. Are those ears the only elven thing about you or are you somehow one of the Eldar now?"

"Well, I have amazing eyesight, hearing, and stamina. Sarah says I am more graceful now than before. Lady Galadriel believes me to be an Elf as well."

At that last sentence, Legolas picked me up and twirled me around, our lips meeting in a fiery kiss. "This is the best news yet, mellamin! I will never have to watch you suffer from old age or death," Legolas said, never removing his hands from my waist. "And once the Quest is over, I will never leave your side."

"I cannot wait for that day, my darling."

He and I embraced again, this time when we pulled away he said, "I don't ever want to let you go, mellamin. You mean the world to me."

As we kissed for the third time, I heard some voices.

"No, Pip. He went this way."

"What do you think he's doing?"

"Probably thinking about Shelly. That's all Legolas ever does these days."

It turned out to be the voices of two of my favorite hobbits, Merry and Pippin. Suddenly, they stopped. "Who's that he's with, Merry? She looks like an elf."

Legolas looked at me and quirked an eyebrow playfully. "Shall I really make them suspicious, mellamin?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper. I agreed with an almost imperceptible nod of my head. He leaned in and kissed me like he was never going to pull away. I kissed him back with all that I had as well.

When we pulled away, I heard Pippin's angry voice saying, "What about Shelly?"

Legolas and I turned to each other. "So when do you want to tell them?" he asked.

"I have a better idea for them, precious," I said, hoping Legolas wouldn't realize that I was mimicking Gollum. "Why don't we let them wonder who I am for a while?"

"That would be interesting. I could introduce them to you as if you had never met them, but I would have to give you an Elvish name and say you were from Mirkwood."

"That would work, but what if Aragorn says something in Elvish? I told Haldir I was raised in Bree and never learned, but if you say I am from Mirkwood--"

"Don't worry, mellamin. I'll help you."

With that, he took me by the hand and led me to where the Fellowship lay. I did, however, notice that Frodo was gone, which meant Sarah would tell him, and hopefully it wouldn't be before Legolas and I had our fun.

"Legolas, Merry and Pippin just told us..." Sam started, but stopped the moment his eyes landed on me. I put on an emotionless face and looked right back.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Eldarwen Telrunya. She is my betrothed from Mirkwood and is terribly shy," Legolas said, talking my hand. "Eldarwen, mellamin, I would like to introduce you to the Fellowship. This is Aragorn, son of Arathorn."

We stopped in front of the ranger. "Milady, we are pleased to meet you. Although we wonder why we have not heard about you before," Aragorn said, addressing his last sentence toward Legolas. We simply moved on.

"This is Boromir of Gondor," I inclined my head toward him and sent a pleasant smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, milady," he said, none too convincingly.

As we turned toward Gimli, I knew that I had to pretend he disgusted me, but I silently prayed that Illuvatar would allow him to forgive me later. "A dwarf, Legolas!" I said, in my most ditzy, annoying voice.

"Yes, this is Gimli, son of Glóin."

Gimli frowned. "I'm sure you don't wish to meet me any more than I wish to meet you, so I'll not say anything." And with that he turned and walked away.

"Next, my dearest love, are the Hobbits: Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took." As Legolas said each of their names, I inclined my head toward them and shook their hands.

"It is a pleasure to meet Halflings of the Shire," I said, in the same annoyingly sweet, ditzy voice. "But I must be going now," I added, as I met the Hobbits' steely gaze. "Legolas, will you walk me to my talan?"

"Of course, my darling."

As soon as we were out of sight and hearing, I burst into laughter. "You don't think Gimli will stay mad at me, do you?"

"No, once he knows it's you he'll forget all about it. My only worry is Aragorn. He suspects something is amiss."

"Well, hurry back. I'm going to hide and listen to the fun after I tell Sarah what's going on."

I looked for Sarah, but couldn't find her, so instead I hurried back to where the Fellowship was staying.

"But what about Shelly?" Pippin pleaded.

"What about her? She told me to be happy and I am. I never really needed her to complete me. All I need is Eldarwen and I'll be the happiest Elf in the world."

Gimli was sputtering. "Laddie, I thought you were smarter than this, but if you do not stop whatever foolishness you've gotten yourself into with that she-elf, I'll remove your head from your shoulders. Why have you left your feelings for Shelly behind? Is this Eldarwen a witch that cast a spell on you to love her?"

"Legolas, I love you as a friend, but right now, I must agree with Gimli. Why are you forgetting your love for Shelly so easily?" Aragorn asked, angrily. "If you loved her as you said you did, you couldn't have found another, ever."

"Maybe I was wrong," Legolas said, half-heartedly. I listened a little longer and heard everyone (except Frodo, since he was still with Sarah) defend me. It touched my heart so much to know that those guys really cared.

I met up with Cody and Mike, who had toured Lórien with Haldir, and told them what I'd done. They thought it was hilarious and agreed not to give it away, even though it meant them avoiding the Fellowship for a little while.

As I went into Sarah's and my flet, I saw that she and Frodo were curled up in her bed together. _Aww__! That is SO adorable._ I went over and pulled a blanket over them to make sure they were covered. I laid down, but I knew I wanted Legolas by my side. _Sarah and Frodo will likely tell everyone in the morning, I suppose. I could end the joke now and bring __Legolas__ back here with me. Plus, poor Sam is probably worried to death about Mr. Frodo._

I got up and put my dress back on, but I grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to change into. I walked back to the Fellowship and called Legolas, and he was almost immediately at my side. I told him what I was going to do and he climbed a tree to watch. I walked to where the Fellowship lay. None of them were asleep yet.

"Do you know where Legolas is?" I asked Aragorn, quietly.

"No, milady, I don't. And I would like to request that you not visit him here anymore, either," he said, his voice loud enough that the others could hear him.

"Fine, Aragorn, just be that way," I said, in a very American accent, and ran into the woods and changed clothes quickly. I walked back out with my black t-shirt and faded blue jeans on.

"Can _I_ be allowed to visit?" I said, grinning.

Aragorn's eyes widened, but then he smiled widely at me. "Shelly, is it really you?" he asked.

"Yes, Aragorn, it is." He pulled me into an extremely tight hug. "I've missed you too, Aragorn!"

Slowly the others realized it was me and that we'd played a joke on them. Merry and Pippin gave me huge hugs. Boromir took my hand and brushed his lips across it. "My Lady Shelly, we have missed you so much."

I smiled. "Thanks."

When Gimli came forward, I hugged him, but as he was pulling away I told him, "Gimli, you've called me a witch twice now. If you do it again, I may have to harm you."

At that he laughed. "So you heard that, did you?"

I only smiled in answer. I sent Legolas to go and get Cody and Mike, since he hadn't seen them for a while, and I talked to everyone. The last one to come forward was Sam.

"I just don't understand where he went, Lady Shelly. He was here, but I can't find him nowheres."

I knew, of couse, that he meant the only missing member of the Fellowship--Frodo. "Sam, do you really think I would have come all this way alone? Or even with only Cody and Mike for company?"

Sam looked confused for a moment.

I smiled, half-sighing. "Frodo is in my flet with Sarah." I decided not to tell Sam that Sarah was a Hobbit--she should get to tell a few things. Sam's eyes widened, and the smile soon spread to his mouth. Obviously he'd wanted that almost as badly as Frodo.

A few minutes later, Cody and Mike arrived back with Legolas. Everyone gathered together and began talking to one another at once, except for Legolas. He came up behind me and snaked his arms around my waist.

"Ready for bed, mellamin? I will escort you to your talan if you wish."

"I thought you'd never ask."

Once we reached my talan, I tried to sleep with my eyes open, but it just wouldn't work, so I closed my eyes and went to sleep--at least it felt like sleep to me--finally back in the arms of my beloved elf.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five--

Sarah POV

When I found Frodo, he was facing away from me, sitting on one of the walkways, legs dangling over the edge, staring off into the distance, almost as if he wished he were somewhere else--and he probably did.

I didn't want to give myself away immediately--I wanted to see if he would recognize me--so I stood behind him. "Excuse me," I said, not wanting to say his name. I tried to speak at a lower pitch than normal so as not to betray myself.

He turned around, catching sight of me, obviously surprised. "Hello. May I help you?"

"Perhaps..." I said vaguely. "I'm in search of pleasant company. May I sit down?"

He shrugged, and I sat next to him, dangling my legs as well. It was hard for me to judge how high up we were, because everthing looked twice as big to me now.

"Might I ask what a Hobbit lass is doing in Lóthlorien, in an Elvish gown, no less?"

I bit my lip. "I just arrived today. I am a friend of Haldir. I do not come from the Shire." That was all true. "What about yourself?"

"I am on a quest, and the the Lady of Light has provided my companions and me with shelter, for a time. If you're not from the Shire, where are you from?"

"I'd rather not discuss that right now."

He shrugged. "All right."

I decided to try and gain a little information. It wasn't like I was having doubts about my choices, but I was curious. "How is it that one who has found reprieve in the Golden Wood has cause to ponder the troubles of the world?"

He sighed. "It is partially my quest, and partially the company I have left behind."

My heart soared. "You left loved ones in the Shire, then?"

"No. A most beloved one, elsewhere. For a long while my quest laid heavily on my mind, but now it seems like little compared to the hurt I must have caused her upon my departure." He paused suddenly. "You said you were in search of pleasant company, perhaps you would be better served if I were to direct you to my kin, for they are lighthearted always."

"That's all right. I'm quite content for the moment."

He shrugged. "I'm afraid no one has found me pleasant these past few days."

"So I'm different. Tell me why you left her."

The first part of that sentence was not quite standard Middle-Earth grammar and he tilted his head for a moment before answering. "I had no choice. I would give anything just to see her again, just for a moment, even, just to tell her I still love her." He looked over at me. "She is all I think about."

I couldn't take it anymore. Those beautiful blue eyes were in so much pain and I was right there, capable of taking that away. I couldn't hold off a moment longer, and I wasn't going to.

I looked deeply in his eyes. I allowed my voice to go back to normal. "Frodo, love..." I whispered.

He jumped. "What? How did you know my name?"

I smiled. "Look at me."

He studied me carefully. "No. You're joking." He frowned, and the light wavered in his eyes, wanting to believe, but not quite sure.

I laughed at his use of the word we'd taught the guys. "No. I'm not." I pulled my hair back away from my face so he could see it more easily.

I could hear the desperation in his voice as he whispered, "Sarah?"

"Yes!" I waited for it to sink in.

"But you're a Hobbit! How? When? What happ--"

I put a finger over his lips. Smiling, I shrugged. "I told you, I just arrived in Caras Galadon today. I just decided that I couldn't live without you, so Mike helped me get here to Middle-Earth, and we met Haldir, and got here today."

"Oh, Sarah!" He pulled me into a hug, grasping me tightly. Then he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back so he could look at me. "But you're a Hobbit!" he said again.

"Yeah, and in my world you were almost six feet tall. Kind of makes sense, doesn't it? I don't know how it happened exactly but I'm not complaining."

He nodded, still letting it all sink in.

"I missed you so much," I said. "I spent two miserable days, wondering what to do, then when I made the decision I had to spend another day waiting on the weather, then two more days walking here, and as if all that wasn't bad enough, Galadriel wouldn't let me see you until I was out of my jeans and into this stupid dress."

Frodo laughed brightly at that. "It's really you," he said incredulously.

I nodded. "Yes. And I'm not losing you again. The night we admitted that we loved each other I told you--I was meant to be with you. I should have seen it from the first, I should have just come back with you, but I was stupid. Can you forgive me for taking this long to realize?"

"Forgive you?" He smiled. "What's to forgive? You're here, that's all that matters."

"And I'm staying here," I said. "Not here, Caras Galadon. I mean, here, Middle-Earth. I'm not going back home."

He frowned. "You mean--"

"Don't tell me that I'm silly and that I've given up too much to be with you, because believe me, I tried to live with it and without you, and it just doesn't work."

He softly smiled. "You did that for me?"

I smiled. "Yes. I tried to drag it out, really consider it, I tried to list all the things I'd miss if I came here, but no matter what I thought of I just...I would then turn and think of your laugh, your smile, your touch, and there was just no comparison. Frodo...I love you. You know that." I placed my hand over his and our fingers intertwined.

"I missed you," he said. "I told you as much just now, and you know I wasn't saying it for your benefit. I didn't realize it was you."

"I know." I smiled. "That's all right, walking by a mirror is still a weird experience for me. My hair is friggin' curly!"

He laughed. "But still beautiful..." He reached up and stroked my cheek, then let his fingers tangle in my newfound curls. He leaned toward me and at last we kissed. I was so happy to be there, finding his presence amazing all over again, and we both had a week's worth of not being kissed to get out of our systems. When we finally came up for air I slid over next to him and leaned against him. His arm found its way around my shoulder and for the first time since we'd parted I no longer felt lost. "Did you notice my ears, too?" I asked.

He looked. "Oh, yeah!"

"And I'm short. I like that part, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of being tall enough to, like, be able to pick you up and carry you around. And it would make it much harder for you to hold me in your arms and all."

He laughed. "Yes, I agree, it's much better this way."

I sighed happily. "I'm a Hobbit in every way, now," I said.

"Oh, really?"

I nodded. "Look!" I pulled my skirt up a few inches so that my feet showed and kicked them around in the air.

He cracked up at that.

"You should have been there when we first got here. I didn't realize what happened for a minute, but then Shelly woke up and my hair was curly and our ears were pointy, and when we got up she was way taller. So then I kind of figured it out and I sat back down and started taking off my shoes, and there were my fuzzy feet. Have you any idea how nice it really is not to worry about shoes? You Hobbits don't know what you've got going for you. I mean, shoes are really inconvenient, it was such a hassle to put them on and take them off, and now I just get up and go! I will definitely be able to get used to this."

He shook his head, laughing at me. Then he sobered. "Would you still care about me if you were not a Hobbit?"

"Of course. This just makes it easier to deal with how people react to us."

He nodded. "Speaking of people, did you say Shelly was here? And with pointy ears?"

I nodded, suddenly remembering. "Yeah, and Cody and Mike. And Shelly is--"

"An Elf?" Frodo finished for me.

"How did you ever guess?" I giggled. He smiled and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, yeah, they're here. Cody and Mike are touring the place, and Shelly is--duh--with Legolas, so we'll probably see them tomorrow at breakfast or whatever. I guess they only have three meals here."

"Yeah."

"It's just as well, I don't think I've developed a Hobbit stomach yet, I'm still used to three."

"That's fine by me. I don't want to waste a single minute with you, especially on something as unimportant as mealtimes."

I realized that he thought there was a time limit, just like before. "Remember, I'm not leaving this time," I said. "I've chosen--chosen, as in past tense, already a done deal--to spend the rest of my life here in Middle-Earth."

He frowned. "What about during the Quest?"

I put my hand on his neck, fingering the fine chain that carried the Ring, which had never been there when I'd been with him before. I didn't dare pull it out. "I can't go with you," I said. "Shelly and Cody and Mike and I talked about it. We think we know how it ends, and if we go along we may change things. We would try to only make good changes, of course, but we wouldn't be able to know everything that would happen as a result of what we did. So we decided that it would be best if we let you go on your quest and waited for you elswhere. Like here. Here is good. It's pretty here." I smiled.

He frowned. "But Sarah--"

I put my finger on his lips again. "This time I'll be on the same planet as you, and I'll know we're going to be together someday. That's progress for us." I smiled.

He half-smiled back. "Well, that's true."

I looked deeply in his eyes. "And I promise you, once we're reunited, it will be the last time we'll have to be. I won't ever let you go again. And it's not like you're leaving tomorrow or anything. Can you keep a secret?"

He nodded. "Of course. If we hadn't wanted everyone to know, we might still be courting in secret, remember?"

I laughed, remembering how we'd given ourselves away. "I think they might have put it together if I decided to come to Middle-Earth and then mysteriously turned into a Hobbit. At any rate, we're going to be here for three more weeks," I said, smiling happily. "So we'll get to have quite a bit of time together before you go, and it'll be happier than last time because you'll KNOW you'll see me again."

"How long will we be apart after I leave here? Do you know?"

I bit my lip. "Yes. Well, I can figure it out anyway, but I can't tell you." I thought quickly, refreshing my memory. They would be leaving on February sixteenth, and then Frodo and Sam would wake up from their Mordor-induced coma on April sixth. "Tolkien laid out the charts in the books. Remember what I said about random, useless trivia? I think it'll finally pay off."

He laughed. "If I guess how long it will be, will you tell me?"

I frowned. "Well..."

"Please?" He smiled teasingly. If only he knew what was going to happen in our time apart.

I pretended to sigh heavily. "Oh, all right. But only since Tolkien may not be right anyway."

"A year?" he asked. I shook my head. "Longer?" I shook my head again. He sighed in relief. "Well, that's good news. Um...two days."

I laughed and shook my head again. "I wish! Longer, obviously."

"Okay...six months."

"Shorter."

"One month." I shook my head. "Two months?"

I shook my head again. "In between the two."

"One month and three weeks."

"A little less."

"A month and a half."

"Close enough. Not to the precise day, though."

He shrugged. "Is that all?"

"Did you want to it be longer?" I teased.

"Of course not, I'm just so surprised that it's so short..."

"But it'll still be like forever," I said, biting my lip to keep from adding "but worse for you than me."

"Any time apart from you is like forever," he said. "These last six days have been about as long as the entire rest of my life."

I smiled. "You can do it, just once more. You have to do it."

He sighed, looking down. "I know."

I lifted his face up to look at me. "None of that. No being unhappy while we're together. We have three whole weeks, but that's not so much time that I want to waste any, either."

"It's longer than we had the first time," he pointed out, then pulled me into a hug. "I just can't believe that you're really here. It feels like a dream."

"That's because we're in Lothlórien," I said. I lifted my face to his and kissed him. He kissed back passionately, as if he was trying to make up for the week we'd been apart and for the hurt he'd caused by leaving--whether or not I knew it was coming, it still hurt. Of course, just being with him again more than made up for it.

"I love you, Sarah."

I smiled, leaning my forehead against his neck. "I am so happy now. The time since you left was the worst time of my life. I mean, for a while I'd had it all, and then I lost it..." I sighed. "I have it all now. I have you."

He kissed my hair. "I can't believe you've done this," he whispered incredulously.

I sat up straight and looked him right in his eyes. "Remember how we talked about eternal love and the afterlife and all that?"

He nodded, not following.

"Last week, more than once, I wanted to go on and die just to see you again. Not that I would have killed myself, you know, but if something had happened, I might not have stopped it. It was that miserable without you. So don't go on and on about what I've given up. I've lost nothing. I've gained all I could ever want." I leaned over and kissed him again. "Do you understand?"

He nodded.

I smiled. "I love you," I told him, passionately, and we kissed like we never had before, days apart or no.

"I understand," he told me, "because it was what I wanted to do myself."

I smiled. "Come with me," I said, standing up. I started leading him back to me and Shelly's flet.

We, of course, kept talking as we walked. He said, "I was hoping that on the Quest, at the end, death might claim me. Life without you is no life."

I smiled. "But you no longer--"

"Of course not. I'll fight harder than I ever would have otherwise, harder even than I would have before I met you."

When we got where we were going, we sat on the bed and kissed again. And again. And again. After that, we laid in each other's arms and talked for hours. He told me what had happened while we were apart--precious little, really--and I told him the same.

"What about after the Quest?" he finally asked me.

I shrugged. "I'll make my home in the Shire. It's where I belong, being a Hobbit and all."

"What are we going to tell people about you?"

"I'm the daughter of two Hobbits who were taken by the wandering-madness and was raised elsewhere, and you met me on your travels," I said blithely. "That covers all of what will be viewed as my eccentricities."

He raised an eyebrow. "Eccentricities? Like what?"

I shrugged. "My different vocabulary, all the songs and poems and stories I know that haven't been written, the fact that no one's heard of me, why I can't grow plants to save my life, the way I dress, all that. Though I suppose once I get there the way I dress will be normal enough, even Elven dresses can't last forever."

He laughed. "Well, I guess I've gotten used to you, but you're right--the folks back home will think you're eccentric. But then, with the way they talk about me, that makes us a perfect match in their eyes."

I kissed the tip of his nose. "We're a perfect match whether people's eyes agree or not."

"We can call you Sarah, but no one will believe the name Ebort."

I almost said that it wouldn't matter since my name would be Baggins anyway, but I held my tongue. He could bring that up. "I guess it isn't very Hobbitish, is is? Well, what were the names of some Hobbits who DID get the wandering-madness?"

He paused. "Well, Hidifons and Isengar Took both left, but you'd be more like their granddaughter."

I wrinkled my nose. "I guess that could work, too, but wouldn't I be related to Pippin that way?"

"Distantly."

I rolled my eyes. "And you're related to Pippin..." I let him put two and two together for himself.

"Oh! No, I suppose that won't work."

"I suppose not," I said dryly.

He laughed. "We'll worry about that later. Sam's better at that kind of thing than I am. Won't he be surprised to see you!"

I smiled. "It'll be nice to see him, too. I missed you the most, and if not for you I'd still be home, but it'll be nice to see everyone else, too."

"They can wait," Frodo whispered. "Just a little longer."

I smiled. "Sure." I snuggled closer to him and while he tangled his fingers in my hair--apparently fascinated by the new curls in it--I drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six--

Shelly POV

When I woke, I found Legolas looking down at me.

"I didn't sleep, for fear that I would wake and find all of this a dream," he said, quoting Prince Henry from "Ever After."

"If it is a dream, then it is a good dream," I said, pulling him to me and brushing my lips lightly across his.

"AHEM!"

I looked up to see Haldir standing there. "Sorry, Haldir. What can I do for you?"

"The Lady wishes to see you, my lady."

"You can call me Shelly again, Haldir," I said, getting up. Haldir smiled, turned, and walked away.

"Mellamin, you cannot leave me so soon," Legolas said, rising from the bed and following me.

"If the Lady Galadriel wishes to see me, what else am I to do?" I asked him.

"I know, but I just do not wish to be separated from you for very long," Legolas said, taking my hands into his.

"I have the same wish, dearest. I will hurry back, I promise." I walked out of the talan and saw Haldir had also awoken Frodo and Sarah.

"Come, she is waiting."

Sarah and I nervously glanced at each other. I had put on my jeans and a red sleeveless t-shirt.

"Wonder what we did?" Sarah said, under her breath as Haldir began to lead us off.

I could hear the smirk in Haldir's voice. "You did nothing wrong, if that is what is worrying you. She merely has a few questions for you and I believe I heard her say something about clothes."

"Really? Good, I need some new clothes," I said, nonchalantly, although inside I was doing backflips. I had always wanted a genuinely beautiful custom-made elvish dress and I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like.

"Shelly, why did you ask me to call you milady yesterday?" Haldir said.

"Well, Haldir, Legolas was not expecting me and he had never seen me in a dress as lovely as that so I simply wanted to see if he recognized me."

"Oh, you were being a prankster. Rumil always used to pull pranks." With that, Haldir told us about a few of the jokes Rumil would play on him. "Well, ladies, here we are," he finally said, allowing us to enter the chambers where the Lady awaited us.

She sat behind a desk--though of course it was much fancier than what one would think of as a desk back on earth--writing a letter of some sort. "Sit please," she said, indicating two chairs across from the desk. One was tall and the other was short. "Legolas and Frodo answered most of my questions, but I have a few more for just the two of you. Do you know what will happen?" ahe asked.

"We know what should happen," Sarah said. "Not what will."

"Could you destroy our world by being here?" Galadriel asked, looking toward the door.

"Possibly," Cody said, stepping forward. He and Mike entered the room. "If we had NOT come, however, Legolas might have died, and Frodo would have been much weaker to the Ring's temptation. This was as much for them as it was for Shelly and Sarah."

I smiled gratefully at him. _He's a good friend, isn't he? Do not worry for him, he will find his purpose here. And you will not destroy our world._ "Man, that is so hard to get used to," I said out loud.

"Galadriel in your head," Mike said, "Tell me about it."

Galadriel merely smiled. "Would you rather I spoke out loud?"

"No," said Sarah, a little too quickly. _Hmm...__I wonder what Galadriel said to her._ We answered a few more questions and then, she took us to the seamstresses to be measured. After we had been measured, Cody and Mike left muttering something about women and clothes. I was able to explain how I wanted my dress to look and Sarah had sketched hers out for them to make sure they had it right.

"Shelly," Galadriel said. "You really should learn some Elvish. I'm sure you can convince Prince Legolas to teach you." She smiled.

"I probably could, but why?"

"Do you really think Thranduil will want his son, the heir to his throne, married to an elf that does not even speak their language?"

"Good point," I said. "Sarah, are you ready? I'm sure the other members of the Fellowship are eager to see you."

"You mean you didn't tell them I was here?" Sarah asked, shocked.

"Yes, but I didn't tell them about your condition," I said.

She grinned. "Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" She bolted out the door and took

off running. I followed and quickly caught up with her as she suddenly stopped. "I just realized. I have absolutely no idea which way to go," she said, laughing.

"Follow me, Hobbit," I said, jogging so she could keep up. Soon we entered the clearing where the Fellowship was staying. "Stay here, Sarah," I said. I walked out and saw Sam, Pippin, and Merry eating what I assumed was second breakfast. "Hey, guys."

"Shelly!" they all greeted me.

Sam nodded at me. "You just missed Mr. Frodo and Master Legolas. They went back to your flet, I believe."

"Actually, I've brought everyone a visitor."

"A visitor, Shelly? I wonder who it could be," Aragorn said, coming into view, followed by Boromir and Gimli.

"Sarah, come on."

She walked out. "Hey, guys," she said, shyly. A few seconds passed. Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli were clearly not shocked, but the Hobbits couldn't seem to find their voices. "Pip, this is the quietest I've heard you be in a long time," Sarah said.

Suddenly, Pippin and Merry had tackled Sarah and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Frodo said, coming in, followed by Legolas. He smiled at the looks the three Hobbits gave him.

"So, nothing interesting happened last night, Mr. Frodo?" Sam said, in a teasing voice. "I would think finding out that Sarah was a Hobbit would be intereting."

Suddenly, I heard a twig snap behind me. I grabbed the arm and twisted it around in front of me.

"Sorry, Shelly. I just wanted to see if you would hear me," Boromir said, stifling a laugh.

"Not funny," I said, letting him go. Suddenly, Legolas' arms wrapped around my waist.

"He was my decoy," Legolas whispered. "Come on, I'll show you the archery fields," he said, leading me away.

A little while later, I stood with Legolas, bow aiming at the target.

"You haven't been practicing since I left have you?"

"Nope," I said, releasing and missing the center by a few centimeters. "But I think my elven eyesight helps quite a bit." We practiced for a little while. "Galadriel said something interesting today," I said.

"Did she?"

"Yeah, she thinks you should teach me Elvish."

"Why?"

"Something about your father accepting me better that way," I said vaguely.

"All right, let's go back to your talan and get started," he said, pulling me to my feet and brushing his lips against mine. "Though I'd rather do this all day," he teased, "Your wish is my command." He then picked me up and carried me to the talan.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So here's another chapter from your favorite authoresses.

Chapter Seven--

Sarah POV

I awoke to a hand on my shoulder. Realizing that Frodo's hands were clasped around my waist I figured that it must be someone else trying to wake me and opened my eyes, rolling half-out of Frodo's embrace and coming face-to-face with Haldir. Frodo murmured softly in protest, so I sat up, took one of his hands in mine and brushed my lips across it.

Suddenly I blinked, looking around. "Is it morning? So soon?"

Haldir nodded. "The Lady wishes to see you."

I looked around some more, taking in the light that was somehow morning-golden and yet still blue without being the slightest bit green. "Wow, it's true what they say about losing track of time here. It SO does not seem like morning."

Haldir nodded curtly. "Is this a common custom where you come from?" he asked, waving his hand over the bed.

I smirked. "What, sleeping together? Yeah, I guess you could call it a common custom." I was amused to see his reaction since he didn't take it the wrong way. He just tilted his head. "Now, did you say the Lady is waiting?"

He nodded.

"Frodo too?" I asked.

"No, you and the Lady Shelly."

I nodded. "Could you give me a moment here?" I motioned towards Frodo.

"Of course." Haldir turned on his heel and left, presumably to wake Shelly.

I bent and kissed Frodo's cheek, and pulled back in time to see his gorgeous eyes open. He looked so lovely laying there, and the smile that came over his face when he caught sight of me simply melted my heart.

"You're really here," he said, seeming to get choked up with emotion.

I smiled softly. "Yes, always, love."

He sat up, put his hands on my shoulders, and gave me the nicest good-morning kiss I'd ever had. "What shall we do today?"

"Well, how about you go find yourself some breakfast and meet me wherever the rest of the Fellowship is staying when you're finished?"

"What?"

"Haldir was just here, and Galadriel wants to see me and Shelly, and apparently you're not invited. You know I'd rather just stay here with you, but I have to go see her, since she's putting up with me and Shelly and Cody and Mike for you and Legolas' sakes. I will come find you at the first possible moment."

Frodo actually gave me puppy-dog eyes. "I suppose so..." Then he broke the trance and laughed. "All right. But do hurry."

I kissed his cheek. "You're cute when you're clingy, you know that?" I hopped out of bed, put on clean jeans and a shirt in the dressing room, and waited just off the talan for Shelly. Haldir was standing there, and Shelly soon joined us. We were soon back in the Lady's presence.

She asked some questions that seemed fairly routine, given the situation.

When she asked if we knew the ending of the story, I said, "We know what should happen, not what will."

_Indeed, young one,_ she said, inside my head. _Do you always speak so diplomatically? It would not have surprised me if you really HAD been at my son-in-law's Council. _What she said out loud was, "Could you destroy our world by being here?"

Cody and Mike made their entrance then and stuck up for me and Shelly.

_I believe he speaks the truth,_ Galadriel said to me. _Your presence in this world will affect the __Ringbearer__ favorably._

I didn't like her in my head, but I didn't want to admit it. I think the main reason it bothered me was that I couldn't do the same thing myself--I could only send thoughts to her, and only if she wanted to hear it. Nonetheless, I tried as before. _His NAME is FRODO. He much prefers that to any title._

After another few moments, Galadriel herded the four of us off to the seamstresses. Cody and Mike left as soon as they were measured, but Shelly and I stuck around to become part of the design process. She described the gowns she wanted, and I drew. Galadriel was more then generous, granting us several changes of clothes each.

They agreed to tailor and put fancier trimming on the dress I already had once I got the new ones, and I counted that as my "Elvish" dress. The sketches I gave them were more Hobbit-style (at least, I kept Rosie Cotton's dresses from the movie in mind as I drew), though I put my own twist to them. Since I had a few shirts from home with me, I made some of the dresses pinafore-style to go over them. After all that, the one dress they'd made me already was brought to me and I changed. I could tell it had been washed because it smelled like what could only be elvish soap.

At last we were ready to go back to the Fellowship. Shelly ended up leading the way, but when we got there she told me to wait outside the area where the guys were staying. I heard the exchange, apparently Frodo and Legolas had gotten tired of waiting and had gone looking for me and Shelly.

Finally, I walked out. "Hey, guys," I said nervously. After a very long pause, I added, "Pip, this is the quietest I've heard you be in a long time."

Next thing I knew I was flat on my back with four arms wrapped around me.

"Hey! Let me up! I'm glad to see you, too!" Merry, Pippin, and I all got up to our knees and suddenly I was looking at them through new eyes. They were the first people besides Frodo who weren't intimidatingly tall. "I missed you," I said, with tears in my eyes, and hugged them both close again.

"We haven't had any fun a'tall since we left your house," Merry said. "Nobody wants to play pranks here because it's so pretty and everything."

Pippin nodded solemnly. "And you'd think if there was a GameCube anywhere in Middle-Earth it would be here. But no."

I began giggling insanely. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll liven things up a little before we go."

"Hey, what's going on here?"

I jumped up and ran to my beloved. "Frodo!" I cried cheerfully, hugging him as well for good measure. "Guess what? I actually got to design my own clothes!"

Frodo raised an eyebrow at me. "I can't wait to see them."

"Me either."

"So, nothing interesting happened last night, Mr. Frodo?" Sam said, in a teasing voice. "I would think finding out that Sarah was a Hobbit would be intereting."

I laughed. "I'm glad YOU didn't tell them either, love, their reaction was priceless. Endearing, really." I walked over to Sam. "The kitchen has simply not been the same since you left. I think everything we ate was like cereal and microwave stuff, no one wanted to really cook anymore." I sighed. "But those were the dark days, and they are over," I said, finality in my tone.

"Over?" Sam said. "Do you mean to say you're staying here from now on? Middle-Earth, I mean?"

I smiled widely and nodded.

Sam pulled me into the tightest bear hug I could remember and whispered in my ear, "I knew it. I knew you were better than to leave Mr. Frodo suffering."

I gasped softly and smiled as he let go. "Thanks, Sam. That means a lot to me."

Frodo came and we sat down together next to Sam, and Merry and Pippin joined us. Shelly and Legolas left, but Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli sat just outside the Hobbit circle.

"So what happened to you?" Pippin asked me.

"To put it simply, Shelly and I were miserable," I said. "Mike said if he could do it once, he could do it again, so here we are. Shelly and I woke up as Elf and Hobbit and walked here--well, we met Haldir and he led us--and here we are." I paused, then thought I should clarify something. "And, for the record, in case anyone has not heard, Shelly and I are staying here."

Boromir looked over at me. "Here where? Here in Lothlórien?"

"No, here in Middle-Earth," Frodo said. "If all goes well, Sarah will be coming to the Shire with me when this is all over."

Merry and Pippin raised their mugs and toasted that, and I realized the Hobbits were eating.

"Thanks, guys. What time is it? This Lothlórien time thing really does mess with a girl's head--"

"It is not regular mealtime, Sarah," Aragorn told me. "The Hobbits are eating by their schedule while the food is available."

"Right!" Pippin said. "This is SECOND breakfast!"

I laughed aloud. "Of course!"

"There's plenty to share, if you're hungry," Sam offered.

I smiled. "Well, as I never had a FIRST breakfast, that really would be nice." I soon had a plate of sausage and eggs in my lap, and listened as everyone filled me in. I was so happy to see everyone at last, and when the Hobbit meal was over I got up and hugged the rest of the guys I hadn't hugged yet.

Gimli chuckled at me. "And to think you're shorter than me now." We'd been about equal in my world.

I rolled my eyes. "At least I'm not a witch," I said, which made him laugh.

Aragorn shook his head. "You've been blessed," he told me.

"It's not me you envy, it's Shelly, isn't it?" I asked softly. Shelly had what he could only dream of.

"I would not take away what she has to gain it for myself--she and Legolas deserve what they got. I merely wish that Illuvatar were a bit more generous."

I looked down, then smiled up at him softly. "You'll get what you deserve, in the end." _He'll be with his __Arwen__ for a long time, and they will be happy._

It was Boromir who really caught my attention. I knew that he didn't have much time left. He hugged me and then ruffled my hair. "It is strange to see you like this," he confessed.

I smiled. "No stranger than seeing you in blue jeans for the first time."

He laughed heartily, and that lifted my mood. He was not yet completely overcome with his desires. Perhaps his last days would be happy after all. "Quick-witted as ever. Now why don't you go with your young Hobbit?"

"I'll second that!" Frodo said.

I smiled. "See ya later, guys."

Frodo and I went on a long, meandernig walk up and down the different stairs, without a clue where we were going. "I'd show you the pretty things," he said, "But I haven't been exploring at all. I don't know where they are."

"Silly, it's ALL pretty here. And it's more fun discovering them with you, anyway."

We stayed away from the group the rest of the morning, and managed to get together a picnic lunch and stayed by ourselves for a few more hours before finally going back to the Fellowship's camp. When we got there, Merry and Pippin pulled me aside.

"Are you really going to live in the Shire?" Pippin asked.

"Well, where else would you suggest?" I asked sarcastically.

Merry nodded. "And I suppose you and Frodo will be married?"

A hot blush rose to my cheeks. "Well--I guess--I mean, he hasn't asked me, but I can't very well live with him if he doesn't. It wouldn't be like things are now."

"Of course," Pippin said, completely understanding something for once. "Merry and I figured as much."

"Exactly. And if all that happens," Merry informed me, "We shall be your cousins as well. But after all we've been through, Pip and I think you're more like a sister to us."

I smiled. I had been thinking the same thing of them ever since I'd seen them earlier, but hadn't been able to put words to the thought. "I'm honored, guys, that you'd think of me that way. So can I call you my little brothers?"

"Little?" Merry asked, indignant. "But Frodo said you're only--"

"SHHH!" It had suddenly dawned on me that age might play a factor in the whole marrying-Frodo thing. "We'll talk about that later, I need to talk to Frodo about that first. But my age regardless, I was thinking we'd base it on maturity, in which case I am DEFINITELY your older sister."

"I resent that," Pippin said, and I couldn't help but wonder where in my world he'd heard the phrase. Merry nodded, faking wounded pride.

"Well...I'll call you my little brothers, and you can call me your little sister, and we'll confuse as many people as possible. Deal?"

They both liked the idea of that (which didn't surprise me, as their normal moods were equivalent to my silly mood), so we did a three-way handshake on it, and then returned to the group, where I settled myself next to Frodo, wrapped in his arms.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So we don't own Lord of the Rings, if we did, we'd be freakin' millionaires.

Chapter Eight--

Shelly POV

"Good day," Legolas said.

I racked my brain trying to remember the Elvish words. "'Quel re," I answered, smiling.

"Correct," Legolas said, brushing lips across mine and making me forget whatever Elvish had been in my head. "Well met."

"How can you expect me to remember when you kiss me every time I get one right?" I said, exasperated at how easily he could distract me.

"I don't. I expect you to give up," he said, reaching for one of my hands. "Besides, we've been at this for an hour. Let's take a break."

"Legolas, melamin, you know I want to make a good impression on your father," I said, standing up. "If you do not wish to help me, I will find someone who will." I stormed out of my flet. Now that I was an Elf, I could run much faster than I used to, so I easily outran Legolas back to where the Fellowship was staying. I ran up to see Frodo and Sarah wrapped in each other's arms and Merry and Pippin were looking at them with huge grins on their faces.

"Where is Aragorn?" I asked. They pointed and I ran to Aragorn. "Aragorn, will you teach me to speak Elvish?"

"Why doesn't Legolas teach you?" he asked, mildly surprised.

"He seems content to distract me," I said, tears forming in my eyes. "I only want to make a good impression on his father. Why can't he understand that?"

Aragorn immediately pulled me into a hug. "It's okay, hon. Shh," he said, rubbing my back. He must have picked up "hon" back in our old world. "I will be happy to teach you. Come on."

A few hours later, I had learned quite a bit of Elvish and felt much more confident about it.

"Thanks so much, Aragorn. What would I do without you?" I said. "Now, I have to find Legolas and talk to him. I feel bad about earlier, but I needed to learn a little bit of it."

"Shelly, let me talk to him. I have a way with making Elves understand." He pulled me in and gave me another hug. "You are a treasure. Don't worry about King Thranduil, you'll be fine," he said, kissing me on the head. "Now, child, we had better go find that boyfriend of yours." Another modern word he'd picked up.

"Too late, Estel," Legolas said, coming up behind us. "I've been here quite some time. Shelly, dearest," Legolas said, turning me to face him, "I'm sorry for earlier. I did not realize how much it meant to you."

"I should have explained it instead of running off, but I knew Aragorn would understand," I said, smiling at Aragorn. "Besides, now that I've learned a little bit, we can go and take that break you wanted to take earlier." I turned back to Legolas.

"Very well, milady. Might I lead you to the gardens?" Legolas grinned, taking my arm.

"Diola lle, Aragorn. Namaarie," I said as Legolas led me away.

As we wandered through the garden, Legolas took my hand. "Shelly, mela en' coiamin, what would I do if you had not come to me?"

"Probably wallowed in misery until you crossed the sea," I said, teasing. Then, in mock seriousness, I added, "You probably would have found comfort in some other elleth's arms."

"Never," he said, pulling me to him. "There will never be another."

Our lips met in a rush of emotion. As the kiss deepened, I realized that elves must have a greater lung capacity than humans do. Then, Legolas made me forget all semblance of thought. My fingers tangled into his hair, pulling him as close to me as possible.

Suddenly, I heard a man clear his throat. As we pulled away, Legolas winked at me and we turned to face the intruder. There stood none other than Aragorn and Haldir. Haldir looked embarrassed to be interrupting us, but Aragorn was either amused or angry, I'm not sure which.

"Lady Galadriel requests the presence of his Royal Highness Legolas and the Lady Shelly for dinner this evening," Haldir said.

"Haldir, will anyone else be there?" I asked.

"I believe that the Ringbearer and Lady Sarah will be present as well," he said.

"Thank you, Marchwarden. We will be there," Legolas said. Haldir bowed and left.

"What time is dinner, Aragorn?" I asked, unsure of how long I had to prepare.

"In about an hour. I would suggest you go get ready," he said, smiling at me like a doting father on his daughter.

"By the way, Aragorn, we told Haldir that I had known you ever since you came to Bree. I hope you didn't blow my cover," I said, with a laugh.

"No, Shelly. Now, you had better hurry."

"Come on, melamin, I will accompany you," Legolas said.

"No, Legolas, you will remain here. I need to speak with you first," Aragorn said. I could tell he wasn't thrilled with Legolas at the moment.

"Fine, I will be by your talan to accompany you to dinner in a little while, dearest," Legolas said, kissing my cheek.

I nodded my head. "Then I shall take my leave." I turned and headed toward my talan. Instead of going there, however, once I was out of sight I climbed a nearby tree to hear what Aragorn had to say to my Legolas.

"How far would that kiss have gone if Haldir and I had not arrived?" Aragorn asked, angrily.

"I was about to end it," Legolas said, defensively.

"Sure you were," Aragorn said. "Legolas, you must tell her soon. I know you said she told you of the customs where she comes from, but she does not know the elvish customs. I know you wish to be with her for life, but you must still explain to her the elvish ways. She does not know them."

"Estel, are you worried I will marry her without her permission?"

"No, but you must admit that the famous elven self-control flies out the window when she's around," Aragorn said.

I almost laughed at the way Aragorn used such an American metaphor in the middle of Lothlórien, but I was able to keep silent with my own elven self-control.

"I know. She's so amazing. I will love her forever and she has expressed the same emotion to me," Legolas said, smiling wistfully. "Aragorn, perhaps I should ask Galadriel to tell her. It would make more sense coming from her, wouldn't it?"

"Perhaps, since Galadriel knows that humans marry differently than Elves. Just make sure Shelly knows," Aragorn said. "You know I consider her to be a daughter. As such, my first concern is for her. Do not hurt her." Aragorn turned on his heel and left.

Once he was gone, I dropped from my tree and ran to my flet. I quickly put on a dark green satin dress that made me feel extremely lovely. I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it back with a barrette I had packed. I was struggling to finish doing up the back of the dress when I heard the soft footsteps of Legolas.

"Let me," he said, buttoning up the last few buttons. Once he was done, he placed a small kiss on the back of my neck that made goosebumps run down my spine. "Ready?"

"Let's do it," I said, taking his hand. But in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder what custom he needed to tell me about.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So I had to edit the song out of this chapter in order to stay within the guidelines of ffn. If you would like the chapter with lyrics, message us or get the other site for the other chapter.

Chapter Nine--

Sarah POV

Frodo and I hung out with the Fellowship (minus Legolas, and Shelly by default, and plus Mike and Cody) for the rest of the afternoon. Shelly eventually reappeared--alone, strangely enough--and got Aragorn to give her an Elvish lesson.

"I should learn Elvish," I said to Frodo. "It's so pretty."

He smiled. "I could teach you," he offered. "Though it would be as much practice for me as teaching you, it's been so long. Legolas helped me some before we went to your world but since then I'd quite forgotten about the whole thing until this moment."

"I distract you that much?" I teased.

He nodded, quite seriously. "Always." He gave me a quick kiss that got disapproving reactions from Merry and Pippin.

"Hey," Pippin said, "You didn't hear what Shelly did when she first got here."

I frowned. "Kissed Legolas within an inch of his life, I imagine."

Merry rolled his eyes. "BESIDES that!" He and Pippin proceeded to fill me and Frodo in on what had gone on with "Eldarwen," which I found hilarious.

"Oh, I would have loved to have seen the looks on your faces," I told Merry and Pippin.

"We were something like this," Pippin said, and proceeded to make a funny face with his eyes bugged out and his mouth wide open, which made me laugh again.

After a while Haldir came to summon Frodo and me to dinner with the Lady. Frodo walked me to me and Shelly's talan so I could get ready.

"I won't be long, I just need to fix my hair, since my dresses surely aren't ready yet," I said.

"But they are," someone said, and I looked up to see one of the seamstresses carrying an armful of clothes. "Three of them are, and three of the Lady Shelly's as well. If you would care to change into one right now I could take the one you're wearing back for the alterations you requested."

"Sure!" I said. She followed Frodo and I into the talan, and put the dresses into a cabinet with my bag. I looked through them, chose a blue jumper-style dress, and one of my shirts from home that was tan and had bell sleeves. I quickly changed and she took the purple dress. I took the comb out of my bag and went to comb out my hair, but suddenly discovered the downside of being a Hobbit.

"My hair is all tangled!" I yelped. This had never previously been a problem for me with my straight hair.

Frodo looked over at me, concerned. "I forgot about that," he said. "Let me help." He stood and motioned me to sit on the bed with my back to him, which I did. "How tenderheaded are you?" he asked.

"I don't know, it's never been this tangled before!"

"From now on, pull it back when you sleep," Frodo advised. He ran the comb through and gently got the tangles out. "With any luck you won't tangle it this bad again. I would have warned you but with everything going on--"

"You're such a sweetheart. Of course you wouldn't think of it, silly. Your hair's not long enough to tang--ow!"

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Just warn me next time you have to yank," I whined.

"There's only one more knot," he said. "Here." I felt a bit of a tug, but he got it out. "There," he said, and handed the comb to me.

"Thank you, love." I turned around, hung my feet off the edge of the bed, and asked him, "Would you mind bringing me my bag?" He did and I dug through it, finding a small elastic, and pulled back the top half of my hair into a ponytail, letting the bottom hang down. I glanced in a mirror and liked the effect of it.

"You look lovely," Frodo told me.

"Thank you."

We made our way to the dining hall, and Galadriel and Celeborn were waiting for us already.

"You might wish to use the chairs on this side of the table," Celeborn said. Frodo and I walked over where he'd indicated and found that the chairs had higher seats on them. When we sat (and he pulled out my chair for me, I might point out) the height of the table was comfortable for us.

"Thank you, my Lord and Lady," I said. Though it seemed that Galadriel was mostly in charge, it seemed disrespectful not to at least acknowledge Celeborn as well.

"You are welcome, though it is obvious that you were not here the first time we tried to share a meal with your fellow Halflings," Celeborn said.

I turned to Frodo. He smirked. "Imagine Merry and Pippin trying to eat at a table where they kept bumping their chins on the edge."

I laughed, but tried to do it softly, covering my mouth.

Shelly and Legolas soon walked in and the six of us began the meal.

"Why are the others not here?" Shelly asked.

"I wished to see the four of you together for myself," Galadriel said. "Though from what I hear about how often you are together I need not worry about anything."

Legolas smiled. "That is most certain," he said, smiling at Shelly.

"After this anyone who wishes may dine here, or you may dine where you wish," Galadriel said.

"Thank you," Frodo said. "You've been most kind, Lady."

Dinner progressed with a lot of such conversation, Shelly and I managing not to make any major blunders.

As I was finishing my food, I noticed a dish I'd missed on Frodo's plate. "Can I try a bite of that?" I asked him.

"Sure."

I took a bite off his plate. "Mmm, that's good, what is that?" Celeborn informed me, but the name was long and in Elvish so I didn't retain it. "May I have some?"

Shelly passed me the dish and I put some on my plate. After I ate that I was still a bit hungry, so I got a little more of a few different things and cleaned my plate again. Fine desserts were then brought out and I managed another plateful and I was STILL hungry.

"I must comment on your fine Elvish cuisine," I said. "I can't remember ever being so hungry."

Frodo looked over at me. "That's right, you never did eat that much."

Shelly raised an eyebrow. "It's not the food, silly."

"What?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Hobbit," she said.

I tilted my head. Frodo laughed. "Of course," he said. "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

I blushed a bit. "Of course," I agreed.

After dinner, Frodo and I managed to get away alone.

"Frodo, love, how far do you think this Hobbit thing will go?" I asked.

He frowned a little. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like at dinner. Apparently I'm going to have a Hobbit appetite now. But I'm not scared of the heights around here, and I think two-story houses are cool, and purple is still my favorite color--"

He put a finger over my lips. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"But what if I become just like all the Hobbit lasses you already knew? Will you still love me?"

He smiled down at me, then kissed me passionately. When he pulled back, he ran his fingers through my hair. "I think the appetite was probably the last adjustment you'll make in order to convert to your Hobbit body, but I don't think your mind will change at all. You'll not be bothered by heights or water and you'll know everything you always did about your world. You're still you, you always will be you, and I will always love you." He kissed me again.

I smiled. "So long as you always love me," I said.

We walked for a little bit and found a spot that overlooked a beautiful waterfall, so Frodo sat on the walkway, leaning back against the mallorn that supported it, and I sat next to him and settled my head in the crook of his shoulder. "There's something else I have to talk to you about," I said.

"Yeah?" he asked softly.

"Merry and Pippin reminded me, and I was thinking about it earlier. I think I've figured it out, but I want to make sure with you first."

"What is it, love?"

I smiled. He hadn't called me that since I'd arrived and it was nice to hear. "Well...you know how old I am, and I think that would make a difference back in the Shire, wouldn't it?"

"I won't tell if you won't," he said, the smile in his voice revealing that he didn't really care about that.

"Well, but how old do I look? I can't tell anymore, I can't judge Hobbit age." I sat up and let him look at me.

"About as old as me," he said.

"Well, since for us we've backed up in the year, I'll be having a birthday soon. It was June when we left, and it's February now. My birthday is in March and Shelly's is in May, so I was thinking--when March fourteenth rolls around again, why don't I celebrate the calendar day instead of trying to figure out how many more days it would have been to make a year, and just say it's my thirty-third birthday, especially since I'm of age anyway. And of course Shelly could do the same thing on her birthday with a different number."

Frodo pondered that for a moment. "You may as well," he said. "It doesn't make a difference as to how I feel about you."

I smiled. "I love you." I kissed his cheek, but he turned it into a lips kiss which became rather prolonged.

After a while, a sudden thought hit me. "Hey, Frodo?"

"Yes, love?"

"There was something I was going to do for you in my world, but by the time I got the nerve my chance was gone."

He frowned and looked at me. "What's that?"

I blushed a little. "Well, they tried to get me to do it once, but I said no, and Sam told me once that you might like it--"

"What is it?" he asked, teasingly.

"Well...they tell me I can sing. I don't know if they're right, though."

He smiled. "If your speaking voice is any indicator, I'm sure you can. I would love to hear you sing." He kissed my cheek. "Please do."

I lowered my eyes just a bit. "I was thinking about it while we were walking here, and I thought a lot about what song to sing, if I should sing something you heard or what, and I thought of the perfect song. Do you remember the night we went on the date?"

"Yeah."

"And you remember the movie we saw?"

"Yeah, it was called 'Ella Enchanted.'"

"Right," I said. "Well, anyway, I used to have the CD with the songs from it, and there was one on there that just fits perfectly..." I gathered my breath and sang softly to him

When I finished I held my breath, waiting for his response. He had been raptly listening and it took him a second to realize I was done.

"Is that all?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

I frowned. "I know I don't sing that well, but--"

He put a finger over my lips, silencing me. "No, your voice is incredible! I mean the song. Surely there's more to it? I could listen to that for hours."

I laughed and kissed him soundly. "Incredible, huh? Well, that's a new word as far as my singing is concerned. At least now you know how I feel about listening to you talk. But sorry, love, that's all there is to the song."

"Then would you sing it again, please?"

I blushed, and laughed. "All right." I sang it through again, glad I hadn't skipped a chorus the first time through like I'd thought of doing, and glad that he was pleased with it. He leaned into my shoulder while I sang.

"That was beautiful," he murmured when I finished, then let out a yawn. "It's getting late."

I smiled. "Yeah, we should probably get to bed."

"Yeah." Frodo sat up a little and rubbed sleep from his eyes. He got up, then extended a hand to help me up as well, and we headed back to the flet.

"Where's Shelly?" he asked, as we got there and found the other bed empty.

I giggled, pulling the elastic out of my hair and using it to pull all my hair back in a ponytail. "Most likely out with Legolas discovering the beauty of not needing sleep. Or the two of them may be sleeping down with the rest of the Fellowship. She's obviously with Legolas, wherever she is."

Frodo nodded. He had already crawled into bed and pulled me down into his arms, throwing the blanket over me. "I love that song," he said. "Tomorrow will you write the words down for me? So I will always have them, and in your handwriting?"

I smiled, settling close to him, safe in his arms. "Sure."

"It fits so well," he said, starting to sound really sleepy. "Someday I will show you this world you have never seen."

"We're off to a nice start with Lothlórien," I said.

"Mmhmm...I want to see it all with you. I want you to see the Shire. My only hope is that I come back from my quest to show it all to you."

"Shh," I said, trying to comfort him. "Of course you will."

"Sarah?"

"Mmm?"

"Since Shelly's not here...would you sing it one more time? Sing me to sleep? Would you mind?"

"Not at all." I sang it softly, hitting the high notes a bit more gently, and he was quite asleep by the time I finished. I softly kissed his lips and fell asleep myself.

The next morning we woke up, still alone. Shelly was nowhere to be seen, and I couldn't tell if her bed had simply not been slept in or if she had made it before she left for the morning.

"Good morning, love," Frodo said. "Why don't you get changed and we'll go have first breakfast with everyone else?" He kissed me good morning and I smiled.

"Sure." I was ready to go in a matter of minutes and we were soon down with the group--Mike, Cody, Shelly, and Legolas included.

"Join us!" Pippin invited cheerily. "There's always plenty of food for everyone."

"That was the idea," Frodo said.

After we'd gotten our food--the amount on my plate seemed like an awful lot to me, but I didn't feel sick after I ate it all--I sat between Frodo and Sam.

"Hey, Sam, Frodo and I were talking about my name the other day."

"Yes, what about it?" he asked.

"No one's going to believe there was ever a Hobbit named Ebort. Since we've decided to say I'm the daughter of Hobbits taken with the wandering-madness, we were wondering if you could give me the names of some of those Hobbits so I could pick one. Frodo was related to the only ones he could think of."

Sam pondered for a minute. "I think any name will do," he said. "No one's going to ask too many questions about it anyway. I hope you realize that if you say that about yourself, everyone will think you're--well--" He took his fork and used it to make a circle pattern in the air around his ear.

I laughed. "That was kind of the point, between that and being raised around Men, if I do anything weird that would be normal in my world, people will just think it's because of that."

Sam nodded. "Makes sense enough. Well, I say just pick a name. There's been one in every family at some point, and people won't be too particular about it anyway."

Shelly, who had heard most of the conversation, stuck in a suggestion. "Hey, Sarah, what about Underhill?"

I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from doing a spit take, since I was laughing so hard. "That's great!" I cried. I turned to Frodo. "Seriously, can I use that? Since your cover's blown anyway..."

He was laughing, too. "Sarah Underhill...has a nice ring to it. By all means, yes, use my name." He waved his hand in acquiescence.

Shelly and I exchanged a glance at his last three words. "I wish!" I mouthed at her, which made her pause for a second and then laugh when she figured out what I'd said.

After breakfast, Mike came over to me, with Shelly close behind him. "Shelly, Sarah--Haldir was here before breakfast, and he said--" and here he broke into a decent impression of the stiff-mannered Marchwarden-- "The Lady has instructed me to see that the four of you know something about weaponry and defense." Shelly and I laughed at his mimicry.

Merry overheard this. "But you already KNOW how to fight."

I smiled. "We know that, and you know that, but HALDIR doesn't know that," I pointed out. "Remember what I said about livening things up, Merry?"

He nodded, an evil grin forming on his face.

"Get everyone, come with us, and tell them to play along," Mike said. And with that, the Fellowship plus four headed out to the practice fields.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten--

Shelly POV

As dinner ended, Lord Celeborn asked Legolas to join him in the other room. Once they were through the door, Galadriel went towards another room and motioned for me to follow her. "Come, child," she said, with a conspiratorial smile. I followed her, wondering where we were going. "I have spoken with the Men, Micheal and Cody. Through them I have learned much of your world and I have learned that your customs are very different from ours. I believe I should explain this to you to prevent your elvish lover from suffering any embarrassment. When elves are married, there is not necessarily a ceremony. All that an elvish marriage requires is the physical union itself. I believe your people call it 'consummating' the marriage." Galadriel stopped for a moment.

"My Lady, did Legolas ask you to speak of this?" I asked.

"No, my dear. Why?" she asked curiously. I told her about the conversation I had overheard Legolas and Aragorn have. "Well, it seems he will broach it to you himself. If he comes to me, I will simply tell him that it is not my place and he must tell you." A few minutes ticked by and Galadriel seemed to be thinking about something. "Oh, yes. I also wanted to tell you that I know what you have given up to join Legolas here. Both you and Sarah have given up much to be here," she said, reminding me of my family at home.

"Yes, we both left our families, and I cannot say that I do not miss them. However, I would be far more miserable without Legolas than without my family. Eventually, I would have moved away from home anyway."

"True, but you would have been able to speak to them."

"I suppose, but having Legolas is worth so much more than that," I said. "I just hope our families are not too hard on Cody and Mike when they return."

"Only one of them will return," Galadriel said, as if in a trance.

That's when I saw it, the image of a man falling down. Then, all I saw were dark brown eyes, eyes that I knew belonged to Cody or Mike.

"This must be wrong, Lady Galadriel. I cannot be seeing this," I said, rising quickly. "There must be some mistake."

"What did you see, Shelly?" Galadriel said, earnestly.

"I saw a man fall to the ground. It looked like Cody or Mike."

"Shelly, I knew you had a gift. You have been given the gift of foresight. You see images of a future that will happen if certain choices are made. You now bear a heavy burden. I see that you have been thinking about what you will do when the Fellowship leaves my borders." Galadriel was slipping back into her queenly manner. "The four of you should speak about what you will do, but do not tell the others of your vision. Not yet."

"I cannot keep anything from Sarah, Legolas, or Aragorn. They will know," I said.

"Tell Sarah, but no one else. Your decision could affect what you know about the future," Galadriel answered. "If Legolas or Aragorn guesses, tell them you have visions, but cannot explain it to them further."

I nodded. "If that is all, I believe Legolas awaits me," I said, not wanting to keep him waiting, yet at the same time wanting time to sort out this new discovery about myself. I had visions of the future.

"Yes, that is all. However, I caution you that the future you saw is not set into stone. Decisions can be made that will change it," Galadriel said.

I nodded to her, but as I stepped through the door, I heard her say to herself, "Perhaps one of the Men will find his destiny in Middle Earth as well."

When I walked out the door, all thoughts of foresight flew from my head, for there stood the love of my life, holding a bouquet of elanor flowers. "Vanimle sila tiri," Legolas said, brushing his lips against mine.

"That's not fair. You know I can never remember my Elvish when you distract me," I said, playfully punching his arm. "Sometimes I'm doing well to remember my Westron around you."

He took my hand and led me into the forest.

"So," I said, after a minute, "What did you say?"

"Your beauty shines bright," he said, grinning at me.

"Aww...thanks, honey," I said, stopping to show him how grateful I was for his compliment. A few minutes later, we were holding hands and wandering through the forest again, and soon, I began to hear a waterfall in the distance. As we walked closer to the waterfall, I realized I also heard voices.

"I think we found Sarah and Frodo," Legolas said, hearing the voices as well. I smiled at him and he pulled me into a hug. "Shelly, what happened after I left?" he asked, taking my hand and playing with the ring that he had given me only a week earlier.

"What brings that question up all of a sudden?" I asked, wondering why he hadn't asked before.

"I tried to ask Cody, but he told me I had to ask you."

"Oh, well, nothing really happened. Sarah and I sat around and moped the first two days. Then, Friday night Cody talked me into going to a party to make me feel better. I ran into Shawn and we talked." I said the last part very quickly, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Your former boyfriend, Shawn?" Legolas asked.

"Yes, Cody knew he would be there, and that was why he wanted me to go. He knew if Shawn and I finally tied up our loose ends, I would be free to come here without any regrets."

"I told Cody to watch over you like a brother, yet he brings you to the man who caused you heartache."

"Legolas, he had his reasons."

"Well, what did Shawn say?" Legolas said, getting angry. I related the rest of what happened to Legolas and watched him get extremely angry when I mentioned that Shawn had kissed me. "Did Cody fight him?"

"No, darling. He knows I can take care of myself," I said, pointedly.

"Point taken," Legolas said, grinning.

I sat down with my back to a tree and Legolas settled his head in my lap. Suddenly, I heard Sarah singing "Once Upon A Broken Heart."

"Who is that?" Legolas asked, sitting up a little.

"That would be Sarah."

"No," Legolas said, amazed. "You were right. She has a beautiful voice." As the song ended, I looked down at Legolas.

"Dearest, let's go. I want to see everyone else for a while."

"What, is my company not satisfying enough for you?" he asked in mock indignation.

"No, I just feel like walking."

"You know everyone else is heading to sleep, don't you?" Legolas asked, standing up, then turning and helping me to my feet.

"Is it really that late?" I asked.

"Yes."

We walked down toward where the Fellowship was sleeping. As we neared, I noticed Boromir was still awake and sitting up by the fire.

"I want to talk to Boromir. Why don't you go practice your archery?"

Legolas nodded and kissed me on the cheek as he walked by. "Meet me over there later," he whispered, striding off to practice.

"Hey, Boromir," I said, walking over and sitting next to him. "How are you?"

"I would be better if I were not in this place," Boromir said. "It is not comforting to hear a voice inside of your head."

"I know," I said.

Boromir turned toward me, surprised. "She did it to you too, then?"

"Yes," I replied simply. "Can you not sleep?" I quickly changed subjects.

"No. Whenever I close my eyes I see my family," he said, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Don't worry about Denethor and Faramir. I'm sure they're fine," I said, reaching over to give him a hug.

"What about Taramir?" Boromir asked, frustrated. "Is she fine as well? Will you not mention her?"

"Who is Taramir?" I asked.

"My sister. Do you not know of her?" Boromir asked, shocked.

"No. Please tell me about her."

"She's lovely, but shy. When she was little, I would take her for walks around the city. Father put a stop to that once she turned sixteen. Ever since then, she has worked in the castle, managing the daily tasks. Father ignores her. Faramir and Taramir do not understand why. I believe I do, a little," Boromir said, tearing up every time he mentioned his sister.

"Why does he ignore her?"

"Because she is a constant reminder of Mother. Taramir looks so much like her."

"How did your mother die?"

"Giving birth to Taramir," Boromir said, sadly.

"Ohhh." I paused, letting that sink in. "I wasn't aware that you had a sister. That's interesting, very interesting," I said, more to myself than Boromir. I got him to talk about other things and once I got his mind off his family, he fell asleep. Then, I went to the archery fields. Legolas and I practiced until morning. After that, we headed back to the Fellowship to have breakfast. Once breakfast was over, Mike told us that we were to have weapons training. Soon, we headed over to the training grounds with the entire Fellowship in tow. Each of us had our own plan to show Haldir how well we were already trained. Legolas and I immediately went toward the archery.

"I'll pretend to teach you how to shoot," he whispered. "That way, I can keep my arms around you." He grinned triumphantly. We pretended to practice, with me always turning the arrow at the last minute and making sure it went wide.

"You are a sorry teacher, Legolas," Haldir said, coming up behind us. "We will return to archery when we have more time. I will teach you the basics of defense with swords now."

Sarah and I took the swords he offered us and went through the motions.

"Now, I will fight Sarah, and then Shelly, and after that I will take on the Men. While I am teaching the girls, begin teaching the Men archery," he said, taking up a very relaxed defensive stance. Legolas led the guys over the archery target, but neither of them shot anything. They simply turned to watch Sarah and I have our fun.

"Go easy on her, Haldir," I heard Aragorn say. I looked over at him and he winked at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Do not worry, Estel. I will not harm her." Haldir had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Then, I saw Aragorn walk up to Sarah and whisper, "Don't hurt him too bad, Sarah."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: This is the last new chapter for a few weeks. Enjoy and review. :)

Chapter Eleven--

Sarah POV

"Why are we doing this?" Frodo asked as he walked alongside me.

"Because it'll be funny, and I haven't had a really, really, really good laugh since before you left."

"Me either."

I smiled and kissed my beloved Hobbit on the cheek.

"Save it for when you're alone, please!" Merry cried from behind us.

I rolled my eyes at him, and he made a face back at me, so I stopped, grabbed Frodo by the lapels, and planted a nice, prolonged kiss on him. When I pulled back Frodo simply stood there in a daze and I looked over at Merry. The expression on his face was priceless.

"That's disgusting!" he said.

"But nothing compared to your table manners," I said teasingly. The three of us started walking again, having fallen behind. He didn't have a quick comeback for that one.

"You should see him when he's drunk," Pippin informed me.

Frodo laughed aloud.

"I don't get drunk," Merry protested. "Just...tipsy!"

Pippin put a hand on Merry's shoulder. "All the more reason!"

"This coming from the Hobbit who once tried to get inside by the wrong gate and let loose an entire flock of chickens?"

Pippin turned red. "It was very dark that night!"

"It's dark EVERY night!" I couldn't help but point out.

"Whose side are you people on anyway?" Frodo teased. "You're all insulting each other!"

"Side?" I asked. "I am on nobody's side, because nobody is on my side!" I knew they wouldn't get the reference for a long while yet, but it didn't keep the laughter out of my tone.

At last we reached the practice fields. Legolas and Shelly made a beeline for the archery targets, and I decided a little practice couldn't hurt me, either. My first few shots were decidedly off the mark since I hadn't touched a bow in several days, but the bow quickly "took to me" again and I had to begin faking that I was very bad. I deliberately aimed for the edges of the target and hit my mark every time. Haldir came over and gave me a few pointers, but I "tried" them and managed to drive an arrow into the ground in front of the target.

"I fear that perhaps the bow is not the best choice for you," Haldir said. "Come, we will start on swords. Perhaps you will have better luck."

"I only have one arrow left, let me shoot it," I said. Haldir nodded and walked off. As soon as his back was turned I shot and made a perfect bullseye. "Look!" I cried.

He turned and the expression on his face was absolutely perfect. "Beginner's luck," he scoffed.

I hid my smile by lowering my gaze to the ground as I retrieved my arrows.

After that, Haldir ran the four of us through the basic stances for swordsmanship while the others sparred. We all knew them perfectly well, but we managed to fake just enough that we seemed like first-timers.

"Now, I will fight Sarah, and then Shelly, and after that I will take on the Men. While I am teaching the girls, begin teaching the Men archery," Haldir said. Legolas led the guys off, but Haldir didn't notice that they didn't start practicing.

Aragorn warned him to let me off easy, but then told me to go easy on him.

I have to admit, however, that even though I had more training than Haldir thought, I was now half the size I used to be, and I was afraid of going up against him even if it was only training. I remembered that on the DVD, Sean Astin was disappointed because even though he'd been through a lot of sword training, he never did get to really use it because all his opponents were twice his size, and in the role of a Hobbit, he simply didn't have the strength or force to physically move them.

_Oh well, here goes nothing._

I faced off against Haldir, and the match went longer than I'd been expecting. It was true, he did have better reflexes because of his Elven senses, and I couldn't strike against him that hard, but I did have the training of a military mind under my belt. Aragorn had employed a lot of strategy into his drills, and I managed to make the fight end in a tie, both of us disarmed at the same time.

Haldir raised an eyebrow. "You are talented."

I smiled evilly. "You should see me on the archery field." With that, my gig was up, and I had to admit to having already had some training. I did keep my mouth shut about the other three, though, so I'm sure they had tricks up their own sleeves.

"And now, dear Marchwarden, since I have had a lovely refreshing bit of practice this morning, may I please be excused?"

"Will you continue practicing during your stay in our fair city?"

I nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't want to keep on being this out-of-practice."

Haldir narrowed his eyes. "You are cunning."

"I can't deny that..."

"Come on, love," Frodo said. "Let's go for a walk."

I looked up at Haldir. "Please?"

He nodded, reluctantly. "Go on. Go."

Frodo and I soon found solitude again. "That was brilliant!" he said as we walked.

"Thank you!" I curtsied--or at least I tried. I lost my balance and fell, but Frodo, being the kind and highly intelligent Hobbit he is, caught me in his arms. "Okay, THAT I really do need to practice."

He laughed. "I take it that's not done anymore." He kissed the tip of my nose and helped me regain my footing.

I shook my head. "No, not really. Let me try it again." We stopped walking and I did. I lost my balance but righted myself before I fell.

"That was pretty good. Make sure you've got your balance with your back foot before you bend your knees."

I tilted my head. "How do YOU know how to curtsy?"

"Careful observation. A knowledge of physics. Having read every other book in Bag End and resorting to reading a manual on manners."

I laughed.

"What? We were snowed in for five days! We couldn't get to the bookshop. If it makes you feel any better it's not as if I actually ever tried it."

I kept laughing. "All right then, mister smarty pants, let's see YOU try it and not fall over."

Apparently my silly mood was contagious because Frodo actually did try to curtsy--and his reading up on it hadn't done him any good, and he fell right into my arms.

I laughed. "Since we're talking about teaching each other things, let me show you what you're supposed to do when the love of your life trips and you catch them, okay?"

He grinned and raised an eyebrow. Obviously, I kissed him senseless. He righted himself and slipped his arms around my waist before we parted.

I stared up into his dreamy blue eyes. "I missed that," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. I played with the bit of his hair that curled onto the nape of his neck. "I missed YOU."

He smiled and kissed me again. "I love so many things about you. Do you want to know one?"

I smiled. "Sure."

"I love how when we're together, we can go so quickly from talking about things that are practical, and then silly, and then romantic...and back to silly!" Suddenly he tickled me at my waist. I screeched, broke free from him, and ran. He chased me, of course, and we ended up back at the talan, where he finaly managed to tackle me.

"I surrender!" I yelped. "PLEASE don't do that again!"

"I'm sorry, did you not like that?"

"No, not really. Though the sentiment was sweet. You can tell me things like that anytime."

He laughed and sat up a bit, and while I was laying there watching him, the chain slipped outside of his shirt and suddenly I saw the One Ring for the first time.

It really was startlingly simple, and small. Somehow I expected it to look too big for him, but I realized that since it could resize itself to fit its current owner, and since Bilbo and Frodo had been the last ones to wear it, of course it would be Hobbit-sized.

It didn't call to me, at least not any more than any shiny piece of jewelry calls to a girl. But still, it was mesmerizing, watching it swing back and forth in front of Frodo's chest. The one thought that ran continually through my head the whole time was _I mustn't touch it. I mustn't touch it._

It took Frodo a second to realize what I was staring at. Immediately he tucked it back where it belonged--well, where it was being kept for the time being. I can't say I relished the thought of the object of ultimate evil hanging around my boyfriend's neck.

Neither of us said anything, but Frodo sat up. I pushed myself up and snuggled next to him, my forehead against the crook of his neck.

"It will be over soon," I said.

He pulled me closer. "Not soon enough."


	12. Chapter 12

So I decided to finish uploading this story here on ffn. We do have this entire story as well as the sequel published on our lj. There you can also find a link to Sarah's drawings of a few scenes in the story as well. Since we had some people reviewing here that I don't believe went to LJ and I know how annoying it is to be reading a story on here and have it stop. I hope you all enjoy. I plan to post several chapters today and maybe some more next week. If you read this, please review, even if it's just to tell us that you were here. Thanks,

Shelly

* * *

Chapter Twelve--

Shelly POV

Once Sarah left with Frodo, Haldir turned to me. "Are you skilled with the sword as well?"

"Me, how could I know how to use a sword when I cannot even speak Elvish?" I asked, sidestepping the question.

"Very well," he said, handing me a sword. When we began fighting, I was able to pretend that I was horrible with a sword. I allowed him to disarm me with ease. The second the sword flew out of my hand, I nodded to Gimli, who threw me his axe. Haldir wasn't suspecting this and seemed shocked. We sparred for quite some time. Sometimes, I would have the upper hand and other times he would. Finally, I made a mistake and Haldir took advantage of this, knocking the axe out of my hand.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Haldir said.

I winked at Gimli. "From Master Gimli. Who else?" I said, grinning at the smirking Fellowship.

"Well, I must confess I did not expect this. Are you also skilled with a bow and with the sword?"

"Yes, Legolas and Aragorn instructed all four of us," I said, grinning.

"Are the two Men just as good?"

"Better," Cody said from behind me. I simply turned and raised my eyebrow in his direction.

"Oh, really? Haldir, I believe you should test him on that," Aragorn said. I smiled thankfully at him.

Legolas stepped to my side. "Shelly, I believe you should practice your archery for a little while." He slipped his arm around my waist.

"Wait, I have to watch this," I whispered in his ear. "I'll make it up to you later though."

Legolas grinned at that, then, his smile faltered. "Very well. Once they are done, we must talk," he said, a little distantly. I nodded at him and turned to watch Haldir and Cody, who were now facing off. Cody countered the first attacks easily, but Haldir became progressively difficult. Suddenly, he caught Cody off guard and knocked the sword from his hand.

"I'm sorry, Master Cody. You have some skill, but Shelly is better." Haldir said, kindly.

"Of course she is. She's an elf for cryin' out loud!" Mike said, from his spot beside Boromir. Soon, Haldir was instructing Cody and Mike in the sword. Legolas and I headed for the archery fields.

"Where do you think you're going, Lady Shelly? You have not practiced your sword yet today," Aragorn said, smirking. I turned, took a sword, and began to perform the basic strokes, and then Aragorn helped me learn a few new moves. Finally, he said, "You may proceed to your archery training. I stress ARCHERY, you two." Legolas and I grinned and went to the archery targets.

"You did well, mellamin," Legolas said, notching an arrow and letting it fly.

"Thanks," I said, taking the bow as he handed it to me.

"We're going to have to get you your own bow, eventually," he said, watching me shoot a few arrows and hitting the bullseye. "You're doing very well. Now, try this." He notched two arrows in the bow and let fly, one hitting the bullseye and the second landed next to the first. I quickly notched two arrows and began trying to hit the bullseye, but they kept hitting right beside it and never quite hitting the mark. Legolas guided my aim and when I let go I hit the bullseye.

Haldir came to watch the last bit. "That's enough for today. Shelly, I will expect you to keep up your own training. Mike, Cody, I will see you here in the morning." And with that, Haldir turned and strode away.

"I thought we'd never get done," I said as Legolas guided me away from the others. Once we reached a beautiful flet overlooking a waterfall. "Where are we?"

"The Lady Galadriel's guest flet. It's usually reserved for royalty. My father and I stayed here once when I was only an elfling. My brothers had stayed in Mirkwood, so it was just my father and me," Legolas explained, smiling.

I felt tears sting my eyes. I would never see my dad again. That realization had hit me, but not like this, and I collapsed into tears. Thankfully, Legolas caught me and just held me while I cried.

"What's the matter, mellamin?" Legolas asked.

"I just miss my dad a little." I looked up into Legolas' blue eyes and saw that he blamed himself for my sadness and I had to explain myself. "I'm happy here with you, but occasionally, I'll be a little homesick. It's okay."

Suddenly, in a flash, I saw my dad, mom, and sister sitting around the table reading my letter. Mom was sitting, Kim was crying, and Dad was holding both of them, while tears ran down his face. "It's okay, honey. Cody and Mike will explain once they get back."

"But why would she leave us?" my little sister said. "Doesn't she love us anymore?" _Yes,_ I tried to say, but the words wouldn't come.

"Of course she does. She just found something she loved more," Mom said, a little bitterly.

"Not more, differently. Think about how she is, honey. She must miss us too, but she obviously would have been worse off without him," Dad said.

"I wish I knew who HIM was," Mom said, tears springing back into her eyes.

Suddenly, the vision went black and I found myself back in Legolas' arms. He looked worried.

"Are you okay? You've been keeping something from me ever since you spoke with the Lady Galadriel last, haven't you?" Legolas said, accusingly.

"Yes, I have visions. I can't tell you about the first one, but I think I can tell you about this one." Legolas kept holding me while I told him what my family had said. After I had myself under control, I said, "Now, I'm fine. I have you." I smiled at him. "So what did you want to tell me?"

"Well, I need to tell you about some of our customs before I ask you this. All that is required for Elves to be legally wed is..." he faltered a little here. "Are you sure you're okay?" Legolas said.

"Positive. Go on," I told him.

He took my hand. "Maybe I should get the Lady Galadriel to tell you this," he said, rising nervously. I had never seen an elf so nervous. I thought it looked very cute, especially on Legolas. However, I couldn't keep him that way.

"Legolas, the Lady already explained that to me," I said, taking his hand. "We just wanted to see if you'd do it on your own."

"Thank goodness," Legolas said, visibly relaxing.

"Sit down, Legolas." He complied and I began to massage his back. It was something I did when I knew I needed to keep my hands busy or I was bored. This time, though, I did it purely because I loved Legolas. After a moment, he was completely relaxed. "Now, what did you want to ask me?" I whispered in his ear.

He turned and took my hands in his. "Shelly, you know how I feel about you and you have led me to believe that you are not exactly indifferent to me."

"I adore you," I said, grinning at him.

"Then..." he said, pausing slightly.

"There you are," I heard Pippin say from behind me.

"We're interrupting, I hope," Merry said.

"Yes, Meriadoc, you are," Legolas said, tersely.

"Calm down, dearest," I whispered to him. "What is it, Merry?"

"Sam wanted to know if you had seen Frodo and Sarah and if you would be joining us for lunch," Aragorn said, coming from behind them. "Sorry, I would have stopped them, but they were quicker than I thought." He nodded toward us. "Shelly, will you come and grace our small table?" He offered me his hand.

I looked toward Legolas and brushed a kiss across his lips, which made him smile. "Certainly, however, I would like to speak with you for a moment," I said, taking Aragorn's hand. Legolas stood up next to me. "Alone, dearest," I said, looking at him in a way that told him I was serious.

"Very well, but may I not even eavesdrop?" he asked, with a cheeky grin.

"Legolas Greenleaf, I was not aware that you could be so..." I was looking for the words to say, but the look in Legolas eyes stopped me. "Sweet," I finished, lightly kissing him. "Now, please."

"Only because I love and trust you," he said, kissing my forehead then going on ahead. Once he was out of elvish hearing range, I turned to Aragorn.

"You should know that I overheard your conversation with Legolas yesterday," I said. Aragorn's face turned scarlet. "Legolas doesn't know and won't if I have anything to say about it. He tried to tell me earlier, but the Lady Galadriel had already explained it. I thought you should know," I finished, taking his arm in mine.

"Is that all you wanted, Shelly?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just curious."

We walked to their camp and enjoyed a nice lunch, minus Sarah and Frodo again.

"Do they ever do anything besides being mushy?" Pippin asked me.

"Probably not," I said. "Legolas and I don't." I winked at Legolas, who pulled me to him and kissed me, deeply and lovingly.

"EEEWWWW!!!!" Pippin and Merry yelled, getting up and running away from their half-eaten lunch. Suddenly, though, Pippin caught Merry's arm and the two of them came back, retrieved their plates, and took off again. Legolas and I turned to each other and laughed.

After lunch, we took another walk and ended up back at the royal guest flet.

"So, what I was going to ask you earlier?" Legolas said, as we sat watching the waterfall. "Shelly, will you..."

* * *

Wonder what he's going to ask?????


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen--

Sarah POV

Frodo and I had a picnic lunch. We took our basket and went on a very long hike, to the edge of the trees, out from under the blue Lothlórien glow and basked in the sunlight for a while.

"What day is it?" I asked suddenly.

"By Shire Reckoning, January twenty-second. Why?"

"No reason. I just really, really don't want to lose track of time here. I don't know, I guess after my world, when the last day really kind of sneaked up on us and came too soon, I kind of want to make sure we have plenty of time left, since I know what day you're leaving."

"What day is it? I know it's three weeks."

"The sixteenth."

"I still find it strange that we're going to have more time together now than the whole time we were in your world."

I laughed. "I'm not complaining. Hey, let's go back and hang out with everyone."

We made our way back to the Fellowship's little encampment and found that most everyone was there, with the exception of Shelly and Legolas.

"You just missed Shelly and Legolas," Pippin informed us.

"You didn't miss much," Merry piped up. "They were being...romantic." He enunciated the last word the same way someone might say "hand-me-down underwear."

I laughed. "I can't blame them. This place certainly brings out the romantic in a person. The romantic and the poet and the lyricist..."

"And the user of big words?" Merry asked.

"Sorry. I'll use small words from now on so you can follow along, Merry."

Merry simply stuck his tongue out at me in return. I was tempted to make that another mushy joke but restrained myself.

Frodo and I sat down where everyone else was sitting. The guys were all kind of puttering around, doing maintenance on their weapons and stuff. Frodo was on one side but I ended up with Boromir on the other.

"It still befuddles my mind to see you this way," Boromir told me. "I see you coming from afar and expect you to be larger when you get closer, and yet you sit next to me and still seem so small."

I laughed. "Well, it's certainly been different."

"You're happy, aren't you?" he asked, concerned for a moment, and I quickly sought to reassure him.

"Beyond all reason," I said. "It's just taking some getting used to, having to lean back to talk to anyone that's standing, knowing how much to eat at mealtimes. The hard part is taking care of this hair, and really, if that's the worst of it I have nothing to complain about. Everything else is just getting used to different customs, and clothes." I smoothed my skirt across my lap, unused to wearing one and suddenly conscious of it.

Boromir nodded. "It has been said that love conquers all."

"I firmly believe that. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be here."

Boromir seemed pensive for a moment, but soon found his voice. "Sarah, do you know what is going to happen to us?"

I blinked. "No. I know what will probably happen, but anything could happen between now and then to change it. I mean, Cody and Mike are here, so it's possible that they could do something really stupid and ruin it all." I winked at Boromir, and he laughed in return.

"I suppose even if you knew for certain, you would refuse to tell me."

"I suppose."

"Even if it was good?"

I turned my gaze toward Boromir sharply. It was as if he KNEW his ending was sad. "Yes, Boromir. No matter what is supposed to happen to you I can't give you the smallest clue. Not even whether your doom is for good or ill."

He was about to ask another question, likely probe a bit and try to get me to spill something accidentally, but we were interrupted.

"Marchwarden!" Merry cried, and stood up straight, almost as a type of salute.

It was indeed Haldir. "Lady Sarah," he said, and I stood up, walking a bit away from the group.

"Yes?"

"Word has reached the Lady Galadriel of your skills with weaponry. She said to provide the four of you with the weapons you should so desire. The Men have been given blades and bows. The Prince's elleth will be given a bow and an axe will be fashioned for her, if we should ever find her. I saw you practicing today and I think it would be more prudent to have a new bow and sword fashioned for you, in the proper size."

Thinking back, the bow I had used, though smaller than the rest, HAD been a bit unwieldy. "Give the Lady my most sincere gratitude," I said.

"I will. But first you must come with me to the bowmakers and smiths, for they need to know your size."

"Sure." I turned around and motioned to Frodo, who tagged along for the little expedition.

"That makes me feel better," Frodo admitted after we left the weapon-makers. "I know you have the training to defend yourself but that would be useless without weapons, now wouldn't it?"

I nodded.

"Of course, you shouldn't ever have to defend yourself HERE, but just in case, you know." Frodo looked over at me. "Are you going to wait here?"

I frowned. "What?"

"After I go, are you going to wait here?"

I paused. "I hadn't really thought about it. I guess so. I mean, I don't know where else to go." _But he'll be in Minas Tirith when it's all over, he won't want to stick around for the festivities if I'm here, he'll want to come find me as soon as possible. Maybe I should try to get there while he's off on his quest and we can be celebrating together._ I made a mental note to talk to Shelly about it later, and if she saw that side of it, then perhaps with Boromir. I was pretty sure she'd see my point--after all, that's where Legolas would be, too. I was also pretty sure that Cody and Mike would go wherever we went, and since they were along for the scenery they'd probably like going somewhere else. It was a lot to think about, though, and I didn't want to waste time with Frodo on it. "I'll think about it, okay? But I'll probably be right here." _Even if I'm not, I'd rather you thought I was safely tucked away here instead of worrying about me journeying around!_

Frodo nodded. "I was just wondering."

I was wondering, now, too, but I didn't say anything.

We had dinner with the Fellowship, and for once everyone was together--Shelly and Legolas included. Shelly was grinning like a Cheshire Cat but kept unusually quiet. I made a second mental note that after we figured out what to do during the interim of the Quest I needed to bug her about what was going on with her and Legolas.

After dinner, Shelly and Legolas left again, but Frodo and I stayed down by the Fellowship's camp. The other Hobbits were exchanging tall tales, and it was hilarious to listen to them all trying to outdo each other. Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli all eventually headed off to bed, and Cody and Mike went off to their own flet, but the five of us Hobbits all settled down next to each other, still talking.

Frodo laid behind me, one arm around my waist and his free hand playing with my hair, and Merry, Pippin, and Sam were all close.

"I feel so safe," I said suddenly.

"Of course you do," Pippin said. "You've got your two older brothers to protect you."

I smiled softly. "Of course." I yawned, sleepiness overtaking me.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"Oh, I adopted them. Me and Merry and Pip are all siblings in spirit."

Frodo laughed. "That doesn't mess things up for you and me, does it?"

"Of course not, that's why I said in spirit and didn't sign anything." I snuggled back a little closer against him and was rewarded with a soft kiss on the back of my neck.

"You two," Sam said, shaking his head and rolling over to face away from us. I was tempted to say something about Rosie Cotton but let it slide.

Pippin finally rolled over as well, and Merry drifted off. Without rolling over, I turned my face toward Frodo's and we shared a long kiss. We got situated and I soon felt his soft breath on my neck, indicating he was sleeping.

"Sarah?" I suddenly heard.

"Merry?" I asked.

"Yes."

"What?"

"I can't sleep."

"Well, I can. This is the most relaxing, comforting place in the world."

"Lothlórien?"

"No, actually, I meant Frodo's arms, but then you could never understand that."

Merry smiled. "Well, maybe not Frodo's exactly...but the one you love, that makes sense."

I stared over at him. "This coming from the Hobbit who runs screaming every time he witnesses a PDA?"

"A what?"

"Sorry. Public display of affection."

"Oh." He laughed a little. "Well...can I ask you something?"

"What else is a sister for if not advice?"

"Seeing you two...I can't help but wonder...what's it like?"

"What's WHAT like?"

Merry fluhed a little. "YOU know...love...being in love..." He was still hesitating and I let him finish, trying not to laugh at him. "Kissing."

I smiled a little. "You'll know someday. I can't really tell you, because there's nothing else in two wide worlds like it. And that's just love, kissing is another thing entirely..." I laughed ever so softly. "Imagine the best thing that ever happened to you, and multiply it times a hundred. That's peanuts compared to being in love with someone. WITH someone. It's not so fun if they don't love back, but I don't think you'll ever have a problem with that."

"Really?"

"Nah." I yawned. "Can I leave you with that as the thought of the day and go to sleep now, Merry?"

"Of course." Merry arranged his blankets the way he wanted and I soon heard a small snore coming from him.

I closed my eyes and soon found myself dreaming.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen--

Shelly POV

"Will you," Legolas said, "Go to Mirkwood once this is all over and meet my father?"

"Of course, we'll both go once this is over," I said, emphasizing the "both."

"No, even if I don't return, I need you to go meet my father."

"Why? If you do not return, I will die, you know that."

"You made me promise you once that I would not fade, even if I never saw you again. All I'm asking is that you make that same promise to me. No matter what happens, you will go to Mirkwood and live."

"Why couldn't I return home if something happened to you? Return to my family?" I asked quietly.

"Because you'd have a hard time explaining these pointy ears," he said with a smile, lightly touching the delicate points of my ears. "Now, please, promise."

"I promise to try," I said.

"Good," he said, "Now, I'll write my father a letter before we leave and you can take it to him."

"What will the letter say?"

"He is to treat you as a princess, even if you're not officially my wife, you are my other half, my soulmate, mellamin."

"You complete me, Legolas," I whispered.

He smiled and gently pressed his lips to mine. The kiss started out light, but was quickly getting more intense. I realized we were lowering to the ground and I realized I didn't want to stop. Suddenly, Legolas pulled away.

"No, mellamin. We cannot. Not yet, it would be wrong as I have not even asked you, yet."

"I know, I know. Let's go have some dinner," I said, standing up and walking toward where the Fellowship was staying with a huge grin on my face. The word "yet" kept playing through my mind. Legolas caught up with me and grabbed my hand.

After dinner, Aragorn and Legolas went for a walk, while I went to find Cody and Mike. I found them at their flet with Haldir.

"Hello, Marchwarden. How are you?"

"I am well. Thank you, Lady Shelly. How is the Prince?"

"Wonderful, as usual," I said, grinning like a schoolgirl.

"By the way, the Lady Galadriel has asked me to tell you that you will be receiving weapons and that you should go be fitted tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Haldir. Will these guys be receiving weapons as well?"

"Yes, both them and the Lady Sarah."

"Great, she'll love that."

"I will take my leave now. Remember, gentlemen, I'll see you in the morning." He bowed and left the flet.

"So, what's up, Shelly?" Mike asked.

"I just came to see you guys since I haven't seen you for a while. So how are you liking Lothlórien?"

"It's okay. It's really relaxing, and Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn are wonderful," Cody said.

"Is it what you expected, Mike?" I asked the Tolkien purist.

"There are a few differences, but it's amazing," Mike said, standing up. I noticed for the first time that he was wearing a dark blue elvish tunic and Cody a light blue one. Mike was wearing boots that matched the time period, but as Cody stood up, I noticed he was wearing his old beat-up tennis shoes.

"Nice fashion statement, Code," I said, glancing at his shoes.

He just grinned back at me. "You know they're my favorites."

"I think the three of us need to talk. I don't know where Sarah is, but we need to figure out what we're going to do after the Fellowship leaves Lothlórien. I know that we cannot join them, but is there anything else we can do? I do not wish to simply sit here and wait for the men to return and I know you don't want to do that either," I said, thoroughly exasperated. "But before we do that, what have you guys been up to the last few days?"

They proceeded to tell me that they had eaten with Galadriel and Celeborn that night. Haldir had brought them back afterwards.

"So, I guess that brings us up to date. Now, what are we going to do?"

"What day does the Fellowship leave?" Cody asked.

"I'm not sure. Let me go get my book." I quickly ran to my flet and grabbed my books. On the way back, I ran into Legolas.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm having a meeting with the guys. Wait for me here," I said, stopping and kissing him greedily before heading off to the guys' flet. "Okay," I said, once I had gotten myself settled. "They leave the sixteenth of Febuary, then Gandalf will show up here on the seventeenth. Then Helm's Deep begins on March third. We would go to that battle. Now, if this follows book verse, then we'll have to get there on our own, if it is like the movie we can go with Haldir to Helm's Deep. From there we can go to Minas Tirith and stay there until the war is over. That way, we'll be there to meet them afterwards. What do you think?" I asked them.

"It sounds like a good plan. That way we get to see much more of Middle Earth and we can fight," Mike said.

Suddenly, I saw another flash of one of them at Helm's Deep. Once again, it was just someone falling to the ground and those brown eyes. It only seemed to last a second, but it must have been longer, because I returned to reality with Cody shaking me.

"Shelly, what's wrong? Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just...tired," I said.

"You're an Elf. You don't GET tired," Mike said.

"All right, I can't tell you. I'm sorry. Someday, I will, I promise, but not now. We'll ask Sarah what she thinks tomorrow." I left their talan and walked back to mine where Legolas sat waiting.

"Shelly," he whispered as I walked in.

"Hello, dearest." I pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "I actually feel like sleeping tonight, shock, shock." I walked over to my bed. "Let's go to sleep."

"Shelly, I cannot stay. Aragorn has forbidden it," Legolas said, walking over and putting his arms around me. "I must stay with the Fellowship, but I'll be back for you in the morning." He tucked me into bed, then placed a chaste kiss on my forehead. "Goodnight, fair Shelly." With that he turned on his heel and headed toward the rope ladder.

"I love you," we whispered at the same time.

He smiled and climbed out of sight.

The next morning, I opened my eyes to find Legolas' gorgeous blue ones staring at me. "I thought I'd bring you breakfast this morning."

I looked down to see a tray of food along with one lone elanor flower sitting beside the plate. "Awww...that's just so sweet." I kissed his cheek and then began to eat. After I was done, we went to the armory, where they fitted me for an axe and my very own bow. I was so excited. Legolas and I went out and practiced archery and sword training for a few hours, then we went and had lunch with the Fellowship including Sarah, Frodo, Mike, and Cody. It was almost like old times, except I could see Boromir was still very troubled. After lunch was over, I drifted over to him.

"Hey, what's going on, Boromir? You're unusually quiet."

"I've been thinking about many things these past few days." Boromir turned and looked thoughtfully out. "However, I will not ruin our time together by talking of them." He turned, grinning slightly at me.

"Tell me more about Taramir."

"She's a wonderful, strong-headed girl. She doesn't mind being the woman that takes care of the household things. She manages the castle wonderfully. Father just ignores her, but she is the apple of Faramir's and my eye. She constantly smiles and is always thoughtful of our needs. Why, she even makes sure that the servants cook our favorite dishes when we are home." He smiled genuinely for the first time since we'd been in Lórien.

"Do you think I'd like her?"

"I think you, Sarah and Taramir would get along splendidly, like sisters."

"Well, I'll have to make sure Legolas plans us a trip to Gondor once this is all over."

"You mean you will not be accompanying us on the journey?"

"You know we cannot do that. It would be unfair, since we know what will happen and everyone might question us why we let some bad things that should occur happen."

"I understand," Boromir said. "Now, I think I'll try to take a nap, since this is the most relaxed I've been for quite a while." He laid down and was soon dozing.

"Aragorn," I said, walking over to where he and Legolas sat talking, "Can I have another Elvish lesson today?"

"Sure, Shelly."

Aragorn and I both turned to look at Legolas.

"All right, I can take a hint. I'm leaving." He winked at me and headed for the archery range. A few hours later, I had finished my lesson and was eager to do something else. Aragorn however, did not agree.

"Try this one," Aragorn said, then rattled off some long elvish phrase.

"Aragorn, please," I said, in a whiny voice. He just glared at me. Then, inspiration hit me. How would I get my way with my real father? "ADA, please," I said, sticking out my bottom lip and pretending to look sad.

Aragorn sat there for a second fighting his emotions. "Fine, you're done for the day."

I grinned at him. "Thanks," I said, rising from the grass.

"But, I did like being called Ada."

"Would you allow me to call you that and not get angry?"

"Only if you will allow me to have some fun with Legolas?" Aragorn said, a slight twinkle in his eye.

"Can I make fun of him too?"

"Certainly."

"Then let's go, Ada." So off we went to mess with Legolas' head.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen--

Sarah POV

Morning dawned softly as it always did in Lothlórien. I woke up and discovered that my head was in Frodo's lap.

"Good morning," he said, smiling down at me. At least I'm pretty sure he was smiling. I had to roll my eyes back pretty far to see his face and finally abandoned the attempt and sat up. I gave him a long good-morning kiss which earned me gagging noises from my little brothers.

"Oh, shut up," Frodo said. "Really. You don't have to WATCH."

"We can still hear you," Pippin pointed out.

I rolled my eyes and gave Frodo one last quick peck. "I'm going to go back to my flet and change, all right, love? I'll be back in a few."

"I'll get your breakfast for you."

When I came back Frodo had gotten me a plate and a seat near the other Hobbits and we all ate together. The day drifted by quickly. Shelly and Legolas made an appearance at lunch, as well as Cody and Mike. After lunch, Mike, Cody, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, Frodo and I all headed out to the practice fields and wore ourselves out training until there was only an hour left before dinner.

I stretched my arms over my head, trying to work out the kinks in my muscles. "Do you want to go eat with the Lord and Lady?" I asked Frodo.

He shrugged. "If you do."

"Might I join you?" Gimli asked.

"Sure," I said, shrugging as well. Then, suddenly, I remembered something and giggled to myself. "I have to go redo my hair, training always makes it fall apart. Frodo and I will meet you there."

As soon as we were alone and out of earshot, Frodo raised an eyebrow at me. "Now what was that about? Obviously that was just a way to get rid of him so you could tell me something."

I laughed. "Wow, you're good. I just wanted to tell you that our dear little friend seems to have a crush."

"Gimli? On the Lady Galadriel?" Frodo smiled a bit, holding back a laugh.

I nodded. "Yeah. Of course he's not stupid, he knows nothing will ever come of it, and I doubt he would go along with it even if it did--he doesn't think he's good enough for her, which may or may not be true. Depends on how you look at it. But he sees in Lady Galadriel a grace, a beauty, a light that will never be seen in polished stone, not even the Arkenstone itself, and he will never forget that."

He smiled even more. "You weren't kidding about the poetic thing, were you?"

I laughed. "That was a bit Shakespearean, wasn't it? Or at least C.S. Lewis-ish."

"I don't know, but it was pretty." We'd reached the flet by then and he pulled out the chair in front of the vanity for me. As I sat brushing my hair (again) I filled him in on who I'd been talking about.

"You'll have to tell me of this Narnia someday," he said.

"Of course. I'd tell you now but we'd be late for dinner." I smiled and we headed off to the Lady's dining hall.

Dinner was nice, if a bit stiff. Even though I generally thought that uppity manners were silly, the presence of the Lord and Lady turned me into a lady--at least as far as conduct. My thoughts were my own, and mentally I giggled at the obviously-smitten Gimli.

After dinner Frodo and I returned to my flet and talked for a while, sitting on my bed. We were just thinking of crawling under the covers when Shelly and Legolas appeared at the door. He lingered long enough to whisper a few sweet nothings (well, their mouths moved, but with their hearing they didn't talk loud enough where I could hear) and give Shelly a long kiss, but didn't stay.

"Don't you sleep together?" I asked Shelly.

She flushed bright red. "Not yet--I mean not anymore. Aragorn has forbidden Legolas to stay here at night."

I rolled my eyes. "If he ordered Frodo not to stay here at night, Frodo and I would simply go ELSEWHERE. Duh."

Shelly's eyes lit up. "Of course." She moved to the armoire and took out a dark cloak--I imagined to help keep her hidden--and started to leave, but stopped in the doorway. "Hey, Sarah, I need to talk to you. Alone," she said, staring at Frodo.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked.

"No, but Sarah, meet me here right after breakfast, alone, okay?"

I nodded. "Right. Here."

She smiled and left.

"I wonder why Aragorn stopped Legolas from staying here," I mused. "And not you."

Frodo rolled his eyes. "Who knows? Maybe it's simply that I haven't talked to him. When you talk to Shelly ask her and we'll figure out if we should avoid Aragorn or not."

I giggled. "I love you, silly Hobbit," I said, and hugged him. He kissed my cheek and I moved my face back so we could share a real kiss. He wrapped one arm around my neck and with the other pulled down the blankets. He then motioned for me to crawl in, which I did, and he tucked me in, then crawled in next to me, the warmth of his embrace counteracting the coolness of sleeping in the may-as-well-be-outdoors.

We woke up at the usual time and had breakfast down at the Fellowship's camp. After that, Shelly and I walked back to our flet. I wasn't sure if she had ended up sleeping in her bed alone or if she and Legolas had found themselves a spot.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Cody, Mike and I were talking about what to do after the Fellowship leaves," she informed me.

"Good! I was going to ask you about that. At least I thought of asking you, but you know how it goes--being with Frodo, I forgot about it ten minutes later." Shelly laughed. "So did you decide anything?" I asked.

"Well, Gandalf gets here the day after they leave, on the seventeenth. We were thinking of leaving after that and going to fight at Helm's Deep."

I smiled. "Yeah! That'd be great! We could actually accomplish something in our time apart from them. Do you think Haldir would--" I halted. "Wait, that's movie-verse. He didn't go in the books."

"That was where we were unsure."

I smiled. "Well, with a little convincing, we might be able to pull off movie-verse. We could talk Galadriel into sending Haldir and his troops."

Shelly nodded, then tilted her head. "Wait. Have you forgotten that Haldir kind of DIES in the movie?"

I thought about that for a second, and then smiled. "Not if one of us saves him."

She smiled. "So we're set, then. After Helm's Deep we figured we'd go on to Minas Tirith."

I nodded. "Right, so we're there when it's all over. Maybe we'll fight there, too."

"Right. And I bet we could get Boromir to write a letter to his father so we'd have a place to stay."

My eyes lit up. "The most beautiful building in the most beautiful city in Middle-Earth? I wouldn't complain about that!"

"Yeah. And guess what else. Boromir and Faramir have a sister there. She lives there in the palace. She kind of minds the household affairs of the place. Apparently Denethor doesn't think as much of her as he thinks of even Faramir, but Boromir and Faramir both love her."

I let that sink in. "Wow. That's cool, I guess. I can easily imagine how Denethor would treat a daughter, though, and it's not pretty."

"Their mother died giving birth to her, and she looks like their mom."

"Ouch, I'm surprised he even keeps her around. In this world it wouldn't have surprised me if she'd ended up as a baby in a basket on a doorstep. What's the poor girl's name?"

"Taramir."

I smiled. "It fits."

"Yeah. Listen, I'm supposed to meet Legolas as soon as I'm done talking to you--"

"Of course. Just one question--how are you and Legolas doing? What's with him not being allowed to stay here at night anymore?"

"Well, I think it's because of a certain elvish custom. Did you ever read up on elvish law?"

"I have the History of Middle Earth in my bag, but I haven't read all of it yet. Tell me."

"Well...Elves are not always married by ceremony. The ceremony is just pomp and circumstance, the marriage is made legal by nothing more than...well..."

I'm smart. I knew what she meant. "Right! Okay, that's good to know! I should ask Frodo about that, then, see if Hobbit marriage works the same way..."

"I doubt it, Galadriel called it elvish custom, not Middle-Earth custom."

"Well, anyway, that makes sense, then. So does that mean you and Legolas are going to tie the knot before they leave?"

"I don't know, he hasn't asked me. What about you and Frodo?"

I rolled my eyes. "The M word hasn't come up between us, and I'm not saying it. I'm trying not to talk too much about living in the Shire because that's not going to happen unless Frodo brings it up. But he may wait until after the Quest, and I can't blame him there."

Shelly nodded. "Of course."

"So you and Leggy, whenever you decide you want to get married, all you have to do is find a private place and...skip straight to the honeymoon?"

Shelly blushed. "Yeah."

"Do me a favor. If you two should happen to choose this flet as the place, bar the door, okay? I really don't want to walk in on that."

Shelly laughed. "Yeah, we wouldn't want the intrusion, either."

I laughed as well. "Good! Now, if we're all settled, let's go back."

We made our way back to the Fellowship plus Cody and Mike, and we were each greeted by our respective guys.

"Let's go for a walk, Sarah," Frodo invited.

I smiled. "Gladly."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen--

Shelly POV

As Aragorn and I headed toward the archery grounds, he explained his plan to me very quickly. I readily agreed and headed to hide in a nearby tree.

"Legolas, we need to talk," Aragorn said, leading Legolas into the woods beneath my tree.

"What do you need to speak about, Aragorn?" Legolas asked.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?" Aragorn said, sounding very angry.

"I was not aware that you had a daughter, Estel, and even if you did, I would not know her."

"But you have professed your love for her on more than one occasion. If she means so much to you, why do you pretend you do not know her?" Aragorn was sounding more and more angry. I was fighting laughter in my tree, but I knew if I giggled Legolas would hear and immediately pick up on what was going on.

"Estel, my friend, whom do you speak of?" Legolas said, very confused. "If I told her I loved her, I meant it differently than she took it, I assure you."

"I have seen you with her on numerous occasions and I intend to know what you plan with her," Aragorn said.

"Estel, the only woman I've ever professed my love to was Shelly..." He trailed off. "OH!" He looked up in the tree and immediately caught sight of me. His jaw dropped to the ground. "ARAGORN, SHELLY, that was a dirty trick!"

I jumped down to the ground and gave Aragorn a hug. "Sorry, Ada. He's smarter than he looks," I said, grinning at Legolas.

"He'd have to be," Aragorn said, laughing. "While we're here, why don't we train a little while, Shelly?"

"Very well."

We headed back to the training field where Aragorn and I trained until dinnertime. Once we reached the camp, we noticed that the others were already eating.

"Where's Gimli?" Legolas asked, once we sat down with the lovely dinner that Sam had made.

"And Frodo and Sarah?" I asked.

"They went to eat with the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn," Boromir said.

After dinner, Legolas walked me back to the flet. "Good night, sweet Shelly," he said, lightly kissing me.

"Rest well, mellamin," I said, stepping into our doorway.

"You know if I could stay, I would."

"But Ada would kill you," I said, giggling. "However, he wouldn't object to a good night kiss. So how about it?" Legolas complied and then left me, and I turned to go to bed--and there sat Sarah and Frodo looking toward where Legolas and I had been standing.

"Don't you sleep together?" Sarah asked me.

I almost laughed. "Not yet..." _Tell me I didn't say that._ "I mean not anymore. Aragorn has forbidden Legolas to stay here at night," I said, sadly.

Sarah smirked. "If he ordered Frodo not to stay here at night, Frodo and I would simply go ELSEWHERE. Duh."

I silently thanked Sarah for her insight and grabbed a cloak, telling her to meet me in our flet the next day. As soon as I was out the door, I took off running to where the Fellowship was, and there sat my handsome Legolas.

"Hey there, handsome," I whispered, just low enough for him to hear. He turned and grinned when he saw me.

"Hey, gorgeous." He walked over to me and wrapped me into an earth-shattering kiss. Suddenly, he pulled away. "You shouldn't be here. What will Aragorn say?"

"Who cares? What can he do?"

"If he really considers himself your father, kill me."

"Even if we are only sleeping?" I asked, putting a small pout on my face.

"But, Aragorn forbid it."

"No, he said you couldn't stay at the talan, and you won't be," I grinned.

"Fine, c'mere."

We headed back to their campsite. Once we got there, Legolas and I laid down and soon I was sleeping again.

After I met with Sarah the next morning, Legolas and I took a long walk. Then we had lunch with everyone and went and trained with Aragorn. Surprisingly, he never said a word about where I slept the night before. That night we had dinner with the Fellowship.

Our days developed a routine, and suddenly, a week had passed and I hardly realized it. As Aragorn and I trained that day, Haldir came over to us.

"Lady Shelly, Lord Aragorn, the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn have decided to host a banquet for the Fellowship while they remain with us. The Lady has sent me to bring Lady Shelly and Sarah to her," the Marchwarden said, stiffly.

I nodded, winked at Aragorn, and waved at Legolas while following Haldir away. Once we were out of earshot, I turned to Haldir.

"Okay, what's going on, Haldir? And drop the lady business."

"The Lady Galadriel has a surprise. Sarah is already waiting if you wish to hurry." Haldir winked.

"Thanks," I yelled, already running toward the Lady Galadriel's flet. A few elves looked at me strangely, but most had grown used to Sarah, Cody, Mike, and my unusual behavior.

Once I reached the Lady Galariel's flet, I was directed to a large room that was actually enclosed from the rest of the place. I entered the door to see a room completely covered in mirrors. It actually looked kind of like the Hall of Mirrors in Ella Enchanted. However, in the center of the room stood Sarah in the dress she'd designed with the elves when we first arrived.

"Wow, you look fantastic. Frodo will be pleased," I said, grinning at her.

"Really, ya think so?"

"Sarah, he loves you, you're very pretty and that dress is drop dead gorgeous."

Sarah giggled at that.

The Lady Galadriel entered the room. "Ah, Shelly, you have joined us. Good. Your dress is also ready if you care to try it on for the banquet tonight." Galadriel pointed to the dressing area that she had just come from.

I went in, and there sat the dress of my dreams. I had modeled it after the dress that Aurora wears in Sleeping Beauty, the blue one. It was so pretty. I quickly put it on and walked back out to Sarah. "If Frodo is pleased, Legolas will be flat out excited," she said. "Who knows," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "After tonight you may be Mrs. Greenleaf?"

"Sarah Grace Underhill!" I said, "I cannot believe you would speak like that!"

Sarah just grinned. "Look in the mirror, Shelly." She knew I had only been looking at her, and avoiding the room full of mirrors.

"Okay, fine." I closed my eyes, moved to where I would be facing a mirror, and opened them. There stood a refined, beautiful, elegant elf--something I had never pictured myself as. "I can't see myself for this other elf blocking my way," I joked. Sarah laughed.

"Very funny, Shelly," said Galadriel from the back of the room. "You both look lovely. I'm sure the Ringbearer and the Prince will be impressed."

"They have names," Sarah and I said in unison.

All three of us started to laugh.

"Now, my ladies have drawn baths for you, and after that, they will do your hair and make sure you look absolutely perfect for this evening." With that, the Lady of the Light whisked out of the room and left Sarah and I to prepare for our big evening.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen--

Sarah POV

Despite my trying to keep up, I did eventually lose track of time. A week had passed before I even realized it. We slept and woke, trained, had our meals, and of course Frodo and I had more than our share of mushy moments. I finally caught up with the date again on the first day of the month, February first by Shire reckoning (all the Shire months have only thirty days). I made a point of calculating it (and I had a lot of help from Frodo) because something out of the ordinary finally happened.

Haldir barged in on me and Frodo--luckily we had just pulled apart from a kiss--and announced, "My Lord and Lady, the Lady wishes for you, Lady Sarah, to come to her."

I nodded. "I kind of figured, you never talk to me otherwise." I decided to poke a bit of fun at him. "You must make a point of avoiding me. And you keep up this silly 'Lady' thing so much, I'm really not. I have no title, no royal blood, not really even the social connections--"

"You are the companion to the Ringbearer," Haldir said, "And that is enough."

"My NAME is FRODO," Frodo pointed out, which sent me into a giggle fit.

When I recovered, I asked Haldir, "Now, really, the point in calling someone a lady is that you wish to do whatever small services you can to please her, right? You have a high respect for her, right?"

Haldir half-nodded, unsure of where I was going.

"And you make a point of not vexing her?"

"Of course, Lady Sarah..."

"So if it annoys me to be called 'Lady Sarah,' then shouldn't you, by way of this respect you have for me, NOT call me that?" Frodo understood my argument, but I could tell I'd confused Haldir. "You can ponder the paradox later. Where is the Lady?"

Haldir told me, and then said, "I am now on my way to summon the Lady Shelly. She will be joining you the moment I find her."

I turned to Frodo. "Sounds like another boys-not-allowed gathering. I'll see you a bit later?"

He pouted. "Oh, all right..."

I kissed him on the cheek. "See you later." I made my way to where Galadriel wanted me.

I should have known--when I arrived, there were seamstresses flitting about, and Galadriel was holding a bundle of purple fabric. It was the dress I'd first worn when I arrived, but now it had been altered and made prettier. Despite its having been altered then as well, it hadn't fit quite right, and it had been very plain. I had been allowed to run free among the trimmings in the seamstresses' work area, and found black-and-silver braid which they put on it, and they had redone the alterations to fit me better.

And, of course, it was finally finished. The rest of the clothes that they had made for me had been brought to the flet the day before.

"I would like for you to try this on," Galadriel said. "I am hosting a banquet tongiht, in honor of the Fellowship, and if it pleases you I think you should wear this. Your other clothes..."

I nodded. "I made the rest of them practical," I said. "For traveling to the Shire and for living there. This is the only one that's really remotely pretty."

"Of course." She nodded, handed the dress to me and motioned me towards an even more private room. I went and changed, and soon came back out. I had just started to survey myself in the mirror when Shelly arrived and started showering me with undeserved compliments. Galadriel made her go and change as well, and while she was gone I studied my reflection.

The gown--it was more than just a dress, now--fit me like a glove, but didn't feel tight or uncomfortable. The skirt swirled when I turned like only an Elven gown could, and I couldn't help but think, _Maybe she's right, Frodo probably will like this...he's seen me dressed up in my world and in dresses here, but never like this._

Shelly returned then, wearing a stunning blue gown. I was sure Legolas was going to be absolutely speechless and I couldn't help but tease Shelly about it just a little. When she finally caught sight of herself, even she was blown away. It was amazing--I could still recognize her as the Shelly I'd always known, and I knew I could count on her to make me laugh or listen to me, but these days there was a grace in her step and her movements, and in the new gown she looked so refined and delicate, it was like looking at a different person.

Shelly finally broke the spell by cracking a joke. After that, Galadriel gave us our orders for the rest of the afternoon and left us at the mercy of seamstresses and ladies-in-waiting.

Baths had been drawn for us--we had taken baths, but in running water, and not heated--and it felt luxurious to sit and soak, especially with soap that carried the light scent of the elanor blossoms. The bathwater stayed warm much longer than it ever had in my bathtub at home, and I whispered a silent thanks for elven magic. A robe had been left for me and after I dried off, I slipped it on. It was soft and comfortable--I had been right, despite being skirts, elven clothes were super-comfortable.

Shelly and I got to sit together for a while, letting our hair dry a bit, and then we each got dressed and sat together again while the ladies-in-waiting did up our hair.

"I've never seen curls like this," Saurelenien, the one doing my hair, said of me. Shelly laughed at that, and I stuck out my tongue.

Minyaithiliel, the one doing Shelly's hair, explained for me. "That's the way of these Halflings, from what I understand."

"That's right," I said. "Frodo and Merry and Pippin and Sam all have curly hair as well."

"Who?" Minyaithiliel asked.

I sighed. "The Ringbearer and his cousins and his gardener. That's their names! And while we're on people not knowing the right names for anyone, we much prefer to be called Hobbits, not Halflings, it's what we call ourselves."

"Hobbits?" Saurelenien repeated.

"Right," Shelly said.

"Is it true what they say about you two?" Minyaithiliel asked.

"What do they say about us?" I asked.

Saurelenien was quick to inform me. "You know, that you two are...well, romantically involved, with the Prince and the Ringbearer."

Shelly laughed. "Yes, I am with LEGOLAS and Sarah is with FRODO. Will no one ever actually use their names?"

Saurelenien bit her lip, I could see it in the mirror. "Well, if you please, we were told not to be too familiar, to show respect."

"For their status or their wishes?" I asked. "I've already been over this with Haldir today. If it annoys them it's not respectful and you're defeating your own purpose."

"He lets you use his name?" Minyaithiliel asked. "He must like you very much indeed to not insist on being called Marchwarden."

"He lets us because we insisted first on not being addressed as 'milady,'" Shelly said. "And he's really not as stiff as he would like people to think."

That made Saurelenien and Minyaithiliel giggle. Apparently the Marchwarden was very good at keeping up his front.

It didn't take them long to finish our hair, and we were each given a small mirror so we could see the back of our heads in the big mirror.

"Oh, wow," I said. "You actually managed to DO something with all those curls." Like Legolas' hair, there was a tiny French braid above each of my ears, but instead of dropping off right behind them, they trailed back to a lovely arrangement of knots at the back of my head, which had a string of black beads and some niphredil flowers woven into it. Below that the rest of my hair hung free, but they had put something in it to tame it just a little, making it wavy rather than frizzy.

Shelly's hair was just as beautiful, and she actually got a silver headband with a blue stone that matched her gown perfectly.

"Now, ladies," Saurelenien said, "You are to be given jewelry as well."

Shelly and I were both surpried. "Surely not," I said. "We've been given so much already..."

"What could a little more hurt?" Minyaithiliel pointed out.

Saurelenien was already bringing us boxes. For Shelly there was a choker to match her dress (though I think that may have been her idea as it was on the original dress), earrings, and a sliver bracelet. For me there was a silver necklace with a black stone and silver earrings with purple stones. It surprised me to learn that already it was a common practice for girls (Elf girls, anyway, and if it turned out not to be a Hobbit thing, oh well, I had my excuse already) to pierce their ears.

They didn't call it makeup, but Minyaithiliel and Saurelenien did know a bit about "enhancing natural beauty," and worked a bit of magic on us. It was mostly shimmery powder and stuff, nothing that was recognizable as modern makeup, but it did make our skin look like it glowed just a bit.

They gave Shelly new blue slippers and tried to convince me to take a pair as well, but I refused. "I'm just as comfortable without them, this skirt is so long you'll never see my feet anyway, and besides--I'm not used to this skirt and wearing shoes would make me just that much more likely to fall on my face. I'll go barefoot, thanks."

At last Shelly and I were completely decked out and got to see the effect for ourselves in the full-length mirror.

"Oh, Shelly, you're gorgeous," I said. "Even Arwen couldn't be this pretty."

Shelly smiled genuinely, apparently keeping the comebacks to herself. "Thanks. You look pretty amazing yourself. You don't look like a pretty Hobbit, you look like a short Elf."

I laughed. "I have to admit, I like it. It wouldn't be worth this much hassle every day, but for tonight, it's nice to be pretty. What do you think Frodo and Legolas are going to say?"

"You mean how long will it take them to recover their ability to speak?" Shelly laughed.

"It's nearly time," Saurelenien said. "You should probably go on to the banquet hall."

"Hey, Shelly," I said. "You go find Legolas and I'll go find Frodo and the four of us will meet there, okay? I'd just as soon we were alone when he first sees me."

Shelly nodded. "Absolutely."

Minyaithiliel told us where to go, since we'd never been in the official banquet hall of the Lady Galadriel, and we headed out the door.

"See you in a few," I said.

"Yeah."

I watched Shelly walk off, amazed at the difference in her. Then I ran off to find Frodo. Unfortunately, he wasn't the one I ran into first.

"What have we here?" Merry asked me, loudly. We were standing in the middle of the path, apparently he and Pippin had been heading my way. He openly stared at me.

Pippin looked up and did a double-take. "Sarah?"

I could feel my face flush. "Yes, now, where's Frodo?"

"I don't know, but he's going to flip when he sees you," Merry said. "You don't look at all like a little sister right now. You look like a...like a lady."

"I am going to assume that was a compliment and that it was completely platonic."

"It was," Pippin said, a bit awestruck. "How did you--"

"Elven maids," I said. "I never could have done it myself. Now, please, I'm looking for Frodo--"

"I can see why!" Merry said. "I think he's up around your flet, waiting. He's going to like this. If he's had any doubts up to this point they'll surely fly away now. Hurry along, we're on our way to the banquet hall, we'll see you there." I started walking, but Merry called over his shoulder, "And if he gives you any trouble, you just remember you have your big brothers to come beat him up for you!"

I laughed. "I'll do that!" I gathered up my skirts in one hand and took off.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen--

Shelly POV

As I left the mirror room, I ran into the Lady and I came up with a romantic way for my boyfriend to see me for the first time. However, it would take her cooperation, which, after I asked, she willingly gave. I sent Haldir to find Legolas and bring him to the Lady's flet. As Legolas stood there, I was able to look between the tree limbs and see him. He was wearing a light blue tunic and leggings, but I noticed that he still wore his bow and arrows on his back. _He is always prepared for anything,_ I thought. I realized I'd been standing there just looking at him for a few minutes, so, I slowly began my descent down the stairs. I never took my eyes off of Legolas. At first, he didn't recognize me, but by the time I reached the bottom step, his eyes had taken on a look of wonder and approval.

"Mellamin," Legolas said, "You take my breath away."

"Legolas, you are far too kind. I'm only as pretty as the maids made me."

"No, your beauty is inner as well as outer. You have a glow from within and no amount of beauty aids will make that," Legolas said, leading me out of the flet and down the stairs.

"Thank you," I said, giving my love a quick peck on the check. "That means so much to me." He smiled and led me through the forest to a clearing, and there were tables set up and music playing. "Wow, I feel like I'm at my senior prom all over again."

"Senior prom? What is that?" Legolas asked as he led me over to a table next to the rest of the Fellowship.

"It's a really special dance to commemorate your last year of school. At ours we had a banquet and a dance. See, they name a prom queen and a prom king. They dance the first dance, then everyone else joins in."

"Ah, I understand. So, who was the queen and king at your prom, Shelly?" Legolas asked as he pulled out a chair for me to sit on.

"Oh, it doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does," Legolas said. "Did I meet either of them?"

"Yeah, you did, actually."

"Well, who were they?"

"Cody was the King."

"Who was the Queen?" Legolas asked. "Was it you?" he said, quietly.

"Yes," I answered. "Remember that crown in my room?" Legolas nodded. "That's what it was for."

Legolas grinned. "That's so great. It doesn't surprise me at all."

Just as we got our dinner, Cody and Mike walked up. "What took you guys so long?" Legolas asked.

"We had to follow our noses all the way from the flet. We don't have boyfriends to come pick us up," Mike said, directing his comment to Sarah on the other side of the table. The hobbits and Gimli had higher chairs than the rest of us and were sitting farther down the table. I was sitting next to Aragorn and across from Boromir. I'd been so wrapped up in talking about prom that I hadn't noticed them there.

"Well, I should hope not," Sarah shot back.

"Have a seat, your highness," Legolas said to Cody, winking at me.

"What are you talking about?" Cody said, sitting down, but with a very confused look on his face.

"By the way, I will not hold it against you that your Queen was the woman I love," Legolas whispered just loud enough for Cody and I to hear.

Realization spread across Cody's face and he laughed. "If you did, you'd probably have already killed me."

"If I thought you were a threat, I would have," Legolas said, seriously.

"Where is Shelly, anyway?" Cody asked, looking around.

"Right here, smart aleck," I said, thinking he was teasing.

"SHELLY!" Cody said. "You look gorgeous. I'm in shock."

"You're in shock, I'm speechless," Mike said.

Legolas squeezed my hand under the table and winked at me. Once we finished eating, the elven band resumed playing music. Legolas turned to say something, but Aragorn cut him off.

"Daughter, will you dance with me?"

"Certainly, Ada. It would be a pleasure." Aragorn led me out onto the floor and we began to sway to the music. "Thanks, Aragorn. You're a great dad," I said, grinning at him, but with tears in my own eyes.

"I just wanted to let you know how lovely you look. I thought Cody was going to faint when he realized that was you," Aragorn said with a soft laugh.

"And Mike's face was classic. I bet they haven't seen Sarah yet, though, have they?"

"Probably not," Aragorn said.

We continued talking and dancing until the next song started. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Boromir standing behind me. "If you dance with me now, I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night," he said, grinning.

"Deal." So, once again, I danced around the clearing.

"You look beautiful tonight, Shelly," Boromir said. "You make me wish Taramir's life had been different. We've never thrown fancy banquets or parties for her. I wish now that we had."

"You may still yet. But while we're dancing, I need to know if you can keep a secret for me."

"Of course, just say the word."

"Okay, I need a favor and you cannot tell anyone else," I said, quickly.

"Why not?"

"I can't tell you unless you promise."

"I promise."

"I need you to write a letter to your father asking him to allow us to stay with him for a while."

"So you and Legolas can show up anytime?"

"Not me and Legolas. Sarah, Mike, Cody, and I. We cannot just sit around until this...this quest is over." I had almost said "this war" but caught myself, realizing that they didn't know that a war was coming.

"I cannot blame you. Very well, I will do it."

"And...?"

"And I won't tell," Boromir said, as the song was ending.

After that, Legolas whisked me around the floor to three dances. Suddenly, I had another great idea. "Legolas," I said, as we waltzed around the room. I could barely concentrate with his hand on my waist like that. "Why don't we ask them to get Sarah to sing?"

"All right," Legolas left me with Cody and Mike and went to arrange the details.

"So, Shelly, may I have this dance?" Cody asked.

"Are you sure? You didn't even want to at prom. You only did it because you had to."

"That's true, but things have changed. We're better friends now." He stuck out his hand and I took it. As we danced, I felt my dress swish around my feet and I felt like I was flying. When I danced with Legolas, Legolas was all I noticed. When I danced with Cody, I felt everything else. He twirled me around the dance floor until the song ended. Then, the announcement came out.

"Will the wonderfully talented Sarah Underhill please come and sing us a song?" Legolas' voice rang out above the crowd.

Sarah looked unsure, but Frodo urged her and soon she was on the stage. "However--" --now it was Sarah talking-- "--I'll only do it if the Lady Shelly will help me." I immediately began shaking my head no, but Legolas and Aragorn had other ideas.

"Go, mellamin."

"You can do it."

The two of them pushed me to the front, where I was helped up onto the stage with Sarah.

"So, what are we singing?"


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Clearly Sarah and I do not own A Pirates Life for Me (Yo Ho) or No Place that Far by Sarah Evans. Nor do we own any of the enjoyable LOTR characters.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen--

Sarah POV

I slowed down as I was about to round the corner to the entrance to me and Shelly's flet. I spied Frodo waiting outside the door, looking expectantly at it.

"I'm over here," I said softly, walking into his view.

"That would explain why no one answered my knock a mome--" Suddenly Frodo caught sight of me. "Oh, Sarah."

That was all he said, but the tone and the expression that accompanied it implied so much more. For a moment it was as though I was the most beautiful woman in the world, not just liked or loved but ADMIRED. I felt the blood rush to my face. I twirled around once so he could see my hair and get the full effect.

He smiled widely, obviously enjoying the view but unsure of what to say. I didn't know what to tell him, either, but when he held out his arms I was more than happy to slide into them and let him hug me. I put my hands on his shoulders and leaned against him.

At last he found his tongue. "Only you could make that gown look so lovely."

_Oh my word, he's not just saying I'm lovely TONIGHT or implying in any way that I'm prettier than normal! He's really got me figured out!_ If he had said I "looked lovely tonight" I would have said it was too bad I couldn't be like that all the time, but there was no way to counter what he'd told me. I laughed. "The master of poetic speeches strikes again," I said, rewarding him with a soft kiss.

"I'm serious," he said, tilting his head, his face still dangerously close to mine. "I don't want to say you've never looked so beautiful, because you always have, but...wow. It's a different side of beautiful for you."

"I could listen to that kind of talk for hours," I said, basking in the glow of the nicest compliment I could ever remember getting. "Though admittedly I could listen to ANY kind of talk from you for hours." Frodo smiled, our noses brushed together, and we kissed again. When we parted I lowered my eyes and suddenly noticed that he wasn't wearing his regular clothes. "Hey! Stupid me, paying so much attention to my fancy dress I don't even notice you!"

"You'll call everyone's attention, looking like that."

I rolled my eyes, pulling back from him, holding his hand. "That's beside the point." For once I felt pretty enough not to argue that it wasn't true, which was a completely new feeling for me. "You don't look so bad yourself!" He was wearing clothes clearly made for him by the Elves, though not Elven-styled. It was a Hobbit-style suit made of Elven cloth in Elven colors, a white shirt, black pants, and a powder-blue vest that made his eyes stand out. "Let me rephrase that--you, dear sir, are resplendent." I couldn't help but think, now that I saw it on Frodo, that Hugh Dancy had never done powder blue any justice.

"It's not the clothes, love, it's seeing you--and I don't mean just because of that gown."

I smiled and kissed him once more. "You know, if we keep this up, we'll miss the party."

"I suppose. Let's go." He held out his arm and I took it, and we made our way to the banquet hall.

There were tables set up in a circle around a fairly open space, and there was an Elven band playing on a low stage. There were various regal-looking Elves (if that's not redundant) already seated, and we were directed to sit at the head table, undoubtedly where Galadriel and Celeborn would be sitting.

"Why are all the tables so close to the edge?" I asked Frodo. "I mean, what are they going to do?"

Frodo looked over at me. "Judging by the presence of a band, I imagine there will be dancing--and I have to admit I'm looking forward to that."

My eyes widened and lit up. "Dancing? Are you serious?"

He looked at me curiously. "Yes, why?"

"Well, it's just...I've never been to a dance in my whole life."

"Never?"

I shook my head. "Most dances, back where I come from, are school events, and since I was home-schooled, I never got to go."

"Home-schooled?" Frodo asked. By then we'd gotten to a table and he was pulling out my chair.

"I never explained that, did I?" I asked as I took my seat. "It doesn't really matter anymore, really, it never mattered to you at all, but for the record Cody, Mike, and Shelly all went to public school, which means they learned all their reading and writing and stuff in a government-funded learning center, and I learned it all at home. Schools sometimes have extra stuff, like sports tournaments, and more importantly, dances. I never got to go to one, and they don't do it so much in college. At least not where I was going."

"So you've never danced?"

"Not unless you count practicing in my bedroom, or the Electric Slide. Or the Macarena. Or Dance Dance Revolution, which is a video game and totally doesn't count." I smiled. "The point is, I tried, but no, I have never been out on a dance floor in the arms of my beloved."

"Well, as soon as dinner is over, we shall have to remedy that," Frodo said.

I nodded. "You know, it's like being a princess," I said. "I am finally getting to live out all the stuff I always dreamed of doing, and I didn't come here with that in mind, I came here just to be with you and I figured that outside of that I wouldn't get to have any fun, but so far everything's been so much closer to perfect than Earth ever could have been."

Frodo smiled contentedly, and looked like he was about to ask something, but a large chunk of the Fellowship turned up just then. Only Legolas, Shelly, Cody, and Mike had yet to arrive. Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Gimli sat near us, and I realized that again we were in chairs of a different height. Legolas and Shelly arrived and sat nearby, and the Lord and Lady came and sat at the center of the table. As we were being served our dinner, Cody and Mike walked in at last, and when he said that they were late because they didn't have boyfriends to escort them, I couldn't help but use the obvious comeback.

Shelly got oohed and ahhed over quite a bit, and it didn't surprise me--obviously, being an Elf, I could never compete with that. It didn't bother me, either, though, because it was obvious that Frodo had eyes only for me. REALLY obvious. I kept catching him staring at me with a really dreamy look on his face.

At last, dinner was over, and the band returned and struck up a new tune.

"Shall we?" Frodo asked, standing and offering his hand, which I gladly took. Out on the floor, I let him arrange our hands as they were supposed to be, since I was more or less clueless. "Just follow my lead," he whispered.

I smiled, suppressing a giggle, and did as he said. It wasn't half so difficult as I expected, and within a few minutes we were minuet-ing all over the place. Or waltzing or two-stepping or whatever we were doing. I had fun, that was all I knew.

After three dances with my love, the other Hobbits all offered to dance with me, and of course I had to agree. Sam was very polite and did everything in the perfectly proper manner. Pippin and I danced during a quick, upbeat sort of song that made me think of the dancing at Bilbo's party on the movie, and I had a blast spinning around during that. Merry wasn't quite so adept, and actually stepped on my foot once. After that, the music slowed greatly, and Frodo took my hand. "This is for us," he whispered, and I turned to face him. I put my forehead in the crook of his neck and we slow-danced. He held me so close, and the music was so beautiful.

"I love you," I reminded him.

"Was tonight all you hoped for?" he asked.

"No," I said. "It was better." I really, really, really wanted to kiss him right then, but I was pretty sure Galadriel would frown on such a public display. Luckily, my boyfriend had the same tendency as me, to ignore the general opinion, and he put his fingers under my chin and raised my face to his, kissing me. I smiled, ignoring a few of the more uppity Elves who were giving us strange looks. "Tonight has been like the ultimate school dance, like what people imagine school dances are like and why they're disappointed when it's held in the gym and everything is second-rate and all."

Frodo smiled softly. "I'm glad. I didn't set this up but I wanted it to be special for you."

The song ended then, and we returned to our seats at the table.

Merry was ready with a smart remark. "So you don't really care, you'll be disgusting in front of everybody."

I laughed.

Sam frowned at Merry. "You leave them two alone. Even the Lady Galadriel smiled at them."

"She did?" Frodo asked.

"The Lord Celeborn looked like he was going to say something," Pippin said, "But she smiled at you two and then at him and he calmed down."

Suddenly I heard the last thing I ever expected and nearly the last thing I ever WANTED to hear. "Will the wonderfully talented Sarah Underhill please come and sing us a song?"

I looked over at Frodo. I let my expression be confused, but my tone was clearly upset. "I am going to KILL Legolas. Or Shelly. It was probably her idea."

"Why?" Frodo asked.

"I can't sing for these people, I don't sing that well!"

"You have the most beautiful voice that ever was," Frodo said. "Please do it. For me if not for anyone else."

I sighed. "Well, since you asked so nicely..." I got up and headed for the stage, not telling him that I already had my revenge planned. Once on the stage, I addressed my audience. "Since it seems that at least three people here think I ought to sing, I will go ahead and burden you with my so-called talents. However, I'll only do it if the Lady Shelly will help me."

The look on Shelly's face was priceless, especially since Legolas and Aragorn both seemed to like my idea and she had no out. She was soon up there next to me.

"So, what are we singing?" she asked.

I had been wracking my brain for something that would work, something that we would both know, that would not sound weird in the day and age, and that would be fun to sing. I considered the drinking songs from the movies, but dismissed them as too obvious. Suddenly, however, I thought of something just as fun. "Shelly, just follow along," I said. Then, louder, addressing everyone else, I said, "This probably isn't like anything you've ever heard before. Back where I come from, it's a song that the children sing when they're playing at adventures. It was recently made popular again." With that, I broke into the first notes of the song.

"_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!_

_We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!_

_We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot_

_Drink up me hearties, yo ho!_

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!_

_We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!_

_Maraud and embezzle and even high-jack_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!_

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!_

_We kindle and char inflame and ignite_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!_

_We burn up the city, we're really a fright_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!_

_We're rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves!_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!_

_We're devils and black sheep, and really bad eggs_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!_

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!_

_We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!_

_Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads_

_Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!"_

When we finished, there was a smattering of polite applause, except from the Hobbit-human-and-Dwarf section, who were decidedly more enthusiastic. Shelly quickly left the stage, but there was a request from the audience. "Come on, Sarah, show us what you're REALLY capable of!" Amazingly, it wasn't Frodo, or Sam, or even my annoying little brothers. It was Boromir.

I blinked. "Well...um..." I couldn't sing "Once Upon a Broken Heart" again, but what else would have the high notes and the depth of lyric that they wanted to hear? I looked over at Frodo and he smiled encouragingly.

"Yes, please," he mouthed.

I smiled as the perfect choice occurred to me, a country song I hadn't heard in months but I had loved from the moment I heard its world premiere. "I don't know who told the Steward that I have any particular talent, whoever it was is sorely mistaken. But if he wishes to hear, then I have no choice but to sing again." I took a deep breath and began to sing.

_"I can't imagine any greater fear_

_Than waking up without you here_

_And though the sun would still shine on_

_My whole world would all be gone_

_But not for long_

_If I had to run_

_If I had to crawl_

_If I had to swim a hundred rivers_

_Just to climb a thousand walls_

_Always know that I would find a way_

_To get to where you are_

_There's no place that far_

_It wouldn't matter why we're apart_

_Lonely miles or two stubborn hearts_

_And nothing short of God above_

_Could turn me away from your love_

_I need you that much_

_If I had to run_

_If I had to crawl_

_If I had to swim a hundred rivers_

_Just to climb a thousand walls_

_Always know that I would find a way_

_To get to where you are_

_There's no place that far_

_Baby, there's no place that far."_

This time, I curtsied when I finished as the Elves put their hands together slightly more encouragingly. "Thank you!" I cried, stepping off the stage, and returned to my seat.

Frodo squeezed my hand. "How do you keep finding these perfect songs?" he asked. "Sometimes I think you composed them yourself, they fit so well."

I smiled, blushing. "Thanks, love, but I assure you, my two or three compositions are simply not that great. I couldn't capture us, ever, to my own satisfaction, not in poetry. Prose maybe. But never in rhyme. That song was made popular by a singer named Sara, though, if that helps."

He laughed softly. "The evening is wearing down," he said. "Whenever we're dismissed it'll be time for bed."

I smiled. "I'm getting sleepy. I'm ready whenever."

The banquet did, in fact, start to wind down, and within half-an-hour Frodo and I were walking back to my flet--or rather, it may as well have been our flet, since we were there every night and Shelly only seemed to be around to change clothes.

"I don't want this night to ever end," I said.

Frodo smiled. "Time means nothing in Lothlórien, remember?" He kissed my cheek as we made our way into the privacy of the flet.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty--

Shelly POV

As I walked off the stage, Legolas pulled me into his arms.

"That was fantastic," Legolas said. "You and Sarah were wonderful." Before I could say a word, he had planted his lips firmly against mine. The next thing I remember hearing was Sarah starting another song. Once she got to the chorus, I recognized it.

"I love this song," I said, breaking out of the embrace Legolas held me in. "Come dance with me, Leggy-loo-loo."

"Leggy what?" he said, as I pulled him to the floor.

"What, you don't like it?" Legolas merely glared in response. "Fine, back to the old nickname hunt," I said, laughing. As Legolas twirled me around the clearing again, I noticed Sarah's song was coming to an end. After this song, the elves went nuts--well, as nuts as elves get. They clapped a really long time. I even overheard a few elves commenting on the beauty of her voice in comparison with elves' voices.

The Lady Galadriel called Legolas to her a little while later. While he was gone, Merry came up to me. "My Lady Shelly, may Pippin and I dance with you?"

"Of course," I answered, and Pippin started to come over. Apparently, they thought I only had time for one dance.

"I'll dance with you next, Pip," I said, winking at him. I allowed Merry to hold my hand and he reached up and was barely able to reach my waist.

"This is a little awkward, Shelly."

"Don't worry so much, Merry. Just have fun," I said. Soon, Merry and I were laughing and spinning around the clearing. After him, I danced with Pippin, which was incredibly fun because Pip is...well, Pip. He had me laughing the entire time. After that, I heard someone behind me. I knew it wasn't Legolas, because his step was lighter. I turned expecting it to be Aragorn, but it was none other than Haldir, the Marchwarden, himself.

"Might I trouble you for a dance, Shelly?" Haldir asked.

"Of course, my dear Marchwarden." We began to quickly waltz and waltz. Haldir taught me a few of the steps that I didn't know and before I knew it, everyone was leaving.

"Well, Shelly, it has been a pleasure, but I must ask to take my leave now."

"Certainly, Haldir. I will see you later." I smiled at him. He nodded, turned, and left. Suddenly, I felt someone take my hand. I looked over to see Legolas.

"May I have the last dance?" he whispered.

"Yes, my dearest. Always and forever."

He pulled me close and we swayed to the music. "That song Sarah sang fit us as well, don't you think?" Legolas asked as we danced.

"Yes, of course it did. It is definitely true of my feelings for you." His arm tightened around my waist and I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. We stayed like that for what seemed like minutes, but must have been hours, because when I opened my eyes, everyone was gone. Legolas and I were the only two in the clearing.

"Shall we dance again?" Legolas asked.

"To what? There is no music."

"Wrong, Shelly. Whenever we are together there is music. Even if it is only the sound of our love," he said.

"Oh that was so cheesy." I teased. Legolas smiled.

"But true." So we whirled and twirled out of the clearing and into the forest. We danced all over. I felt like Cinderella with the Prince twirling me from the beautiful ballroom to the private garden. Suddenly, we came to a small lake.

"This is beautiful," I breathed.

"Not half so lovely as you, my sweet," Legolas said, walking toward a dock. When we reached the end, I noticed a rowboat.

"You didn't have this planned, did you, my Prince?" I giggled.

He grinned. "I have a name you know."

"Yes I do know, Legolas," I said, seriously.

Our faces were only inches apart, but Legolas pulled back and helped me down into the boat. He began rowing to the center of the lake. Then, he just let us drift. He took hold of my hands and that's when I heard the two voices singing the song that I least wanted to hear.

"Go on and kiss the girl," Mike sang quietly.

"C'mon, ya know you want to kiss the girl," I heard Cody's deep voice sing.

"Yes, you want her, look at her, you know you do." This time it was a new voice which sounded remarkably like Aragorn.

"Floating in a blue lagoon, boy ya better do it soon, no time will be better. She don't say a word, and she won't say a word, until you kiss the girl," all three voices sang softly. Legolas immediately whipped out his bow and an arrow shot towards where the voices were coming from. I heard Aragorn's rich laughter as he leapt from the tree they'd been singing in. Then Cody came out holding Legolas' arrow and laughing. Finally came Mike, looking extremely scared.

"I shot it right in between Mike and Cody," Legolas whispered.

I couldn't help it. At that, I started to giggle. "Good job, dearest." I smiled. Suddenly, I heard a splash. Legolas shot at whatever it was, but all of a sudden, Legolas and I were in the water.

"Well, that killed the romantic mood," I said, as Legolas helped me out of the water. "Who was that, anyway?"

"You don't want to know. It would only make you want to commit murder," Legolas said, walking toward my flet so I could change.

"Precisely. NOW, TELL ME!!!" I said, angrily.

"Very well, it was Cody."

"Of course it was Mr. Lifeguard. How could I forget? Oh, he'll get his and when he least expects it," I said, trying to develop some evil plan in my mind.

All of those thoughts left my mind when I felt Legolas hand on the small of my back. "Mellamin, must you always exact revenge? Could you not just let it go this time?"

"No, why should I?" I asked, suddenly very suspicious of my boyfriend.

"It was only a harmless prank. Plus, you look good wet." And with that he pulled me close to him and brushed his lips to mine. However, it only takes a spark to get a fire going and we sparked when our lips touched. As our kiss deepened, I suddenly heard someone behind me. I put my arm around Legolas' back and quickly pulled out his blade and turned on whoever had snuck up on us.

"Who goes there?" Legolas said, pulling his other blade.

"It's only me," Cody said, coming out from behind a tree. "I came to apologize to you and Shelly. I acted very juvenile and should be punished."

"Why did you do it?" Legolas asked, curiously.

"I just wanted to give a little payback. That's for the bucket of water on our second day here, girly. I didn't think about it offending you though. Will you forgive me for being so young and immature?" Cody said. "But I also am afraid for you, both of you really?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Like it or not Legolas must leave eventually, and I don't want the two of you to be so deep that Shelly will hurt even more and Legolas will be unable to complete the Quest."

"I think we are already in pretty deep, Cody, but don't worry. I forgive you," I said, pulling myself up to my whole height and trying to utilize some of the elven grace the others said I had.

"You mean you're not going to retaliate or anything?"

"No."

"Wow, this elven thing must really be sinking in."

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of it," I said, smiling. After that, Legolas took my arm and led me back to my flet, where I changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Since Legolas and I would just be hanging out together, I figured it wouldn't hurt. I left Sarah and Frodo sleeping in the flet.

Legolas and I wandered around the whole night, laughing, and we even trained for a few hours. Once the next morning dawned, we went to breakfast with everyone else. Once that was over, Legolas and I were walking back to my flet so I could change into something more suitable. Suddenly, I began to see another vision.

I saw Legolas bent over a body crying. As the vision progressed, I got closer and closer until I could see he was crying over...me! I looked like I was sleeping, except for the blood at my side.

Suddenly, I collapsed.

The next thing I remember was being carried in the strong arms of my elven warrior prince and being placed on my bed. "Don't worry," I said, when I heard him call for a Healer. "I'm fine. Just another vision." I smiled. "It was simply more intense than they usually are."

Legolas did not look convinced.

"Go train for awhile. I will simply rest."

The second he was out of hearing range, I burst into tears. I cried and cried, and suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Sarah.

"Shelly, what's wrong?"

"There's some things I haven't told you about myself. Is Frodo here?"

"Yes, I'm right here, Shelly," Frodo said from behind her.

"You are so kind, Frodo, but can you leave Sarah and I for a few minutes?"

Frodo looked to Sarah who nodded her head. "Certainly, Shelly," Frodo said, leaving the room.

"You might want to sit down, Sarah," I said, starting to rise.

"No, you stay there and tell me what's going on." Sarah crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.

"Fine, I'll tell you everything." So I began by telling her that I had visions, then I told her what they were. Finally, I told her about the last one. When I finished, she looked a little pale, so I asked, "Sarah, are you all right?"

She nodded. "It's not me I'm worried about."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One--

Sarah POV

I woke the next morning the loveliest way possible, with Frodo's lips upon mine. I kissed back.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully.

I smiled, not opening my eyes. "And to you, love." I stretched my arms over my head. "I don't want to get up."

I heard his sweet, soft laugh. "If you get up and get dressed I can kiss you some more before we go to breakfast."

"Well, if you put it THAT way..." I said, sitting up. I gave him a quick kiss and went off to get dressed. I was soon back and we put his plan into action. We arrived at breakfast a little late, but nobody said anything.

We stayed with the Fellowship, heading for training right after breakfast. Shelly and Legolas left--Shelly was in jeans and needed to change. When we'd been training for about half-an-hour, Legolas returned--alone, and with a pensive look on his face. He pulled me aside and dropped to his knees to speak to me on my level.

"I think you should go check on Shelly," he said, seriously. "She made me leave--she's in your flet, resting."

"What happened?" I asked. "Is she okay?"

"She claims to be fine," he said, "But I feel safe in placing the emphasis on CLAIMS. She's not injured, just...she passed out. Would you please go check on her?"

"Of course," I said, as curious as I was worried. Frodo walked over as Legolas stood and walked over to the archery area.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but Shelly needs me. Come on." I told him what Legolas had said as we walked to the flet.

When we got there, I found Shelly crying. Knowing she'd probably heard me coming, I put a hand on her shoulder. "Shelly, what's wrong?"

"There's some things I haven't told you about myself. Is Frodo here?"

Maybe crying affected her hearing. "Yes, I'm right here, Shelly," Frodo said.

Shelly asked him to leave, and then proceeded to tell me just what was going on.

_Shelly has foresight?_ It was a lot to take in and I didn't say anything for a moment.

"Sarah, are you all right?"

"It's not me I'm worried about," I said, nodding.

Shelly frowned. "Well, who, then?"

"You, of course. They call foresight a gift, but I don't believe it is. I mean, I hate the position we're in now because of the books, wanting to say, having to watch our mouths...that's hard enough, but to constantly see things like that for the rest of your life? And obviously you haven't seen anything that's made you particularly happy. And knowing that bad things are going to happen to Cody or Mike or you and all..." I sighed. "That last one. That isn't exactly reassuring."

"I know."

I looked up at her. "Are you entirely sure you were dead?" I asked.

"Legolas was crying. And there was blood, Sarah, so much blood..."

"He might have cried if you were just injured, too. Have you seen anything else? Anything that's actually come true yet?" I asked.

"No, I just told you everything. Galadriel said that there's no way to know whether or not the choices will be made to make them come true."

I sighed. "Well, maybe it won't happen, then. And even if it does, maybe it's a zillion years from now, it's not like either one of you are going to look any older. If that's the case then it's kind of good because that means he'll still be devoted to you, right? Not that that makes it better, you know, but--"

"Yeah, I know."

"Maybe you should talk to Galadriel about that last one. She might be able to tell you what's up." Honestly, I just knew that it was out of both our hands and even my eternal optimism wasn't quite helping. Shelly didn't answer me for a moment. "Legolas looked pretty worried. He said you passed out. Do you need anything? Like water or something else to drink?"

"No, I'm fine. I think I ought to rest, though, I told him I would. I may go talk to Galadriel later. If you see him tell him to be sure I'm up and around by suppertime, okay?"

"Sure. I'm heading back to the training field, so I'll likely see him."

"Thanks."

I got up and headed for the main room, but paused in the door. "Hey, Shell?"

"Yeah?"

"I guess I'm not supposed to tell Frodo, am I?"

"Galadriel said I could tell you, and that I could tell Aragorn and Legolas that I have visions but not what they're of. I don't know...he's going to wonder what happened, but I think it'd be best not to make him worry about me..."

I smiled. "I'll tell him you saw Legolas in a hot new outfit and keeled right over."

Shelly laughed. "He wouldn't believe that, but would you please not tell him about the visions? At least not until I find out if Galadriel thinks he should know?"

"Right. One last question before I go."

"Shoot."

"What about Cody and Mike? After Legolas and the rest leave, it's going to be me and them watching out for you, and if you faint I'm not going to be capable of dragging you back here all by me onesie." Shelly laughed softly at the quote from Pirates. "They probably need to know that you have visions, if not what the visions actually are."

Shelly sighed. "I definitely need to talk to Galadriel. I'll ask her that, too."

"Okay. Now you get your beauty sleep, wouldn't want to be less than perfect for Legolas, now would we?" I left and found Frodo waiting by the door.

"Is Shelly all right?"

I nodded. "She just...she's fine. She's still kind of getting used to being an Elf, apparently it's a bigger jump from human to Elf than it is from human to Hobbit. Don't worry about her, she's just resting for now. Come on, we both need to train. Let's go."

Back at the fields, I pulled Legolas aside and told him that she was doing all right, and what she'd told me about being woken up for dinner. "Keep an eye on her, though," I said. "Visions...that's pretty scary stuff. I didn't want to say it to her, but foresight can be more of a curse than a gift. I've read about it, I've known of people who had it happen to them once or twice, and it seems that she's having them quite a lot..."

He pursed his lips. "I know. Sarah--"

I nodded. "Of course. Right now she has you to watch her and I've got Frodo taking up a lot of my time, but when you both leave I'll watch out for her." I smiled. "Duh."

He smiled just a little bit. "Thank you. Now, if you would like to proceed to archery training, you need to catch up to Shelly and try two arrows."

I practiced archery with him for an hour, then played at swords with the rest of the guys for another hour. After that the Fellowship had lunch back at their camp, and then Frodo and I went off by ourselves until dinner, which we ate with the Fellowship. We hung out with them for a few hours and then disappeared again.

We walked a fair distance until we found a clearing and decided to lay down in the grass and stargaze like we had before he'd left.

"It's so different from when we did this before, back in my world," I said. "I can't see any of the traditional constellations."

"Do you think it's a different world, then?" Frodo asked me.

"I don't really care anymore," I said. "I love it here."

He looked over at me. "Really?"

I smiled at him. "I could die right now. I'm just...happy. I've never felt that before. I'm just exactly where I want to be."

He tilted his head. "What?"

I laughed. "Sorry, it's from a movie. It's true, though. I'm exactly where I want to be--in your arms."

He smiled. "What movie?"

"It was called 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,' and don't ask me what it was about because it was horribly complicated even while you watching it, I could never tell it over again. But Elijah Wood was in it and he said that to his girlfriend."

"What kind of name is that for a movie?"

"It came from a poem by Alexander Pope. It went, 'How happy is the blameless vestal's lot? The world forgetting, by the world forgot, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, each prayer accepted and each wish resigned.'"

"That still doesn't make much sense."

"Don't worry about it. It didn't even if you watched it. But like I said, it is true."

He kissed me on the forehead. "I love you."

I smiled and snuggled against him. "You just made me want to say it again. I'm just happy."

We were silent for a moment, and suddenly I realized he was shaking me awake. "Sorry, love, but we can't sleep here. It's too open."

I yawned. "Sorry. I didn't even realize I was sleepy..."

He kissed me softly and then pulled out of my embrace. I whimpered, but then suddenly I was being lifted up into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck. "It's all right," he said. "We'll go back to the talan."

I closed my eyes again, leaning my head against his shoulder, slipping in and out of consciousness. I didn't remember the walk, but I vaguely remembered him pulling down the covers, laying me in the bed, and slipping in next to me.

"I love you," I whispered when he finally settled.

"Sweet dreams, love."

Like I could have anything else.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two--

Shelly POV

Once Sarah left, I quickly got up and changed into a simple gown. I grabbed my cloak and headed out the door toward the Lady's flet. As I walked, I thought about everything Sarah said. I kept trying to think that she might be right, but she hadn't seen the look on Legolas' face, or all the blood. She just couldn't understand. Galadriel would be the only one that would really know what I was going through.

Once I arrived at Galadriel's flet, I was immediately admitted. I walked in and the door shut behind me.

"What do you need, Shelly?" Galadriel asked, although we both knew that she already had the answer.

"Just to talk, if that is all right, my Lady."

"You may call me Galadriel. After all, I do not refer to you as Lady Shelly."

"Thank you."

"And of course you may speak with me about anything."

"Well, I've had more visions. I had one of my family. They were reading the letter I left them, and I think they understand why I left them," I said, slowly.

"Yes, though they miss you, don't they?" Galadriel asked, even though, once again, she knew the answer before I said anything.

"Yes, and I miss them as well, but I do not regret coming."

"As it should be," Galadriel said, smiling.

"Then, I had one this morning..." I trailed off. Galadriel nodded her head for me to go on, so I described what I saw to her and what Sarah had said. When I finished, Galadriel did not looked shocked, but she did look concerned.

"One should not have visions about one's self. You must not let it bother you. For all you know, it could be that Sarah is right and it will not happen for some time. Even if it does, there is nothing you can do to stop it. Put it out of your mind," Galadriel said. "Now, was there something else you wanted to ask me?"

"Yes. Do you think it would be okay for me to tell Cody and Mike about the visions without telling them what they are?" I asked.

Galadriel paused, staring at me. I presume she was reading my thoughts, so I let her. There was nothing there to hide from the woman who had been so kind to us. "I believe so, and you should speak with Aragorn as well. There may be a member of the Fellowship that you can tell all things to. Trust your instincts when it comes down to who to tell. Now, the pr--or rather, Legolas, is looking for you," Galadriel said, ushering me toward the door. I smiled, realizing that she had not called him the prince.

"Thank you, I feel much better now," I said. "I will see you later, Galadriel."

She smiled and I walked back toward where the Fellowship was staying.

"Shelly!" Legolas ran toward me and enveloped me in a huge hug. "I was so worried about you," he said, kissing my temple.

"I'm fine, honey," I said, smiling a little stiffly. Legolas still looked worried. "Hey, it's nothin', don't worry about it. I talked to Galadriel and I'm fine," I said, pulling away from him. "Hey, Sam. What's for dinner?" I asked, kneeling down to speak to him. As Sam told me, I sensed a presence behind me.

"Shelly, we must talk."

I turned to see Aragorn towering over me. "Very well, Ada," I said, standing and following him into a clearing.

"Shelly, I will only ask this once, are you experiencing visions?"

"How could you...?"

"An educated guess. Let me take another one, one of them at least involved you and Legolas," Aragorn said again. All I could do was nod. "Oh, poor Shelly," he said, pulling me into his arms to hug me. "Was it bad?"

"Very bad," I said, trying to keep my composure.

"Can you talk about it?" Aragorn asked, pulling back to look into my eyes.

"Not yet, and probably not to you," I said. Aragorn looked confused. "It is already a burden to know the future according to the book, now I see it happen as well and you don't deserve to be burdened with what I know. I just can't put you through that, Ada."

Aragorn looked understanding. "I believe I could deal with it, but if that is your wish, then so be it," he said, then turned and headed back to camp.

"You may come out now, Boromir," I said, turning to face the trees where Boromir had been hiding.

"I didn't mean to overhear..." he started.

"It's fine, Boromir." I smiled, "Please, sit down." The two of us sat down on the grass. "Now, what did you need?" I asked, patiently.

"I wanted to know if this was what you had in mind for the letter to say." At that, he handed me the roll of parchment he had underneath his arm. I opened and read it. Basically, it said that we were friends that Boromir had met while traveling and asked his father to look after us until Boromir himself arrived. Although I knew Boromir would never arrive, I nodded.

"Perfect. Thank you so much, Boromir," I said, giving him a hug. "The four of us really appreciate it." Boromir and I sat there quietly for awhile, neither of us stirring at all. Finally, I knew I could ask him. "Boromir, what do you think would happen if I died?" I asked. Suddenly, I realized who I was talking to. He'd be gone soon as well.

"Is that what happened in your vision?" Boromir asked. I nodded. "Well, I'm not sure, Legolas would probably kill whatever had harmed you," he said with a smile. I smiled back a little. "What I do know, Shelly, is that you should use whatever time you have to be happy. You should pretend you know nothing of it, but at the same time, make sure that all he'll have is happy things to remember you by." At that, Boromir stood up and helped me to my feet. "And one more thing, maybe this event will not happen at all. If you allow this fear to control your life, you will never be truly happy or free again."

"Thank you, Boromir," I said, hugging him again, this time with tears in my eyes. "I needed that." He walked me back to camp where we ate dinner. Afterwards, Sarah and Frodo disappeared. I also noticed that Aragorn and Legolas were talking quietly, and at the end, Aragorn nodded.

"Shelly, my love," Legolas said, walking toward me. "You weren't listening to us, were you?" he asked, his most mischievous gleam in his eye.

"No, I tried, but couldn't hear you," I answered, truthfully.

"Shall we go for a walk?" he said, offering his arm.

"Of course."

We walked, and talked about everything, except what had happened that morning. Legolas told me stories of his brothers and him getting into trouble. I in turn told him of pulling silly pranks with my friends who already seemed so far away. Suddenly, we came upon a beautiful waterfall.

"Is this the one we saw from the royal talan?" I asked.

"Yes, but I like this view much better," Legolas said, putting his arms around me.

"So do I," I agreed, snuggling into his chest. We stood like that for some time just watching the waterfall. Finally, Legolas spoke.

"Shelly, I must confess, I did not bring you hear to stare at the waterfall all night, but to ask you a question," Legolas said, turning to face me. "Shelly..." Legolas pulled out a beautiful ring with an amethyst heart and two diamonds beside it, "Will you marry me?"

"No," I answered quietly.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three--

Sarah POV

When the dawn's early light forced me awake in the morning, Frodo was already up. I found myself with my head in his lap.

"Good morning," he said.

I smiled. "Yes indeedy," I agreed. "You're here."

His smile faded. "Don't say it that way," he said. "I already worry about you for when I'm gone."

"You mean when we're apart. You'll be back," I said. "Trust me. I read the books, and I should be the one worrying about you. And don't ever think that I don't." I sat up and turned to face him. "Don't spoil the time that we have." I softly kissed his lips. When I pulled back, he smiled again.

"Of course. I'm sorry."

"It's all right, love. Everything is going to be all right."

I think he wanted to protest, but he let it slide.

We ate breakfast with the Fellowship and Cody and Mike. Shelly and Legolas were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are those two?" Aragorn asked.

"I haven't seen them," I admitted. "Not since yesterday when I checked on Shelly, during training, and Legolas at training." _That's been almost a whole day already..._

He frowned. "I wonder what they're doing."

It suddenly occurred to me just exactly WHAT they MIGHT be doing, but I kept my mouth shut.

"Are you all right?" Pippin asked me.

"Yeah, fine," I said. "Why?"

"You look flushed," Merry said.

Frodo turned to me. "Yeah, you do."

"It's warm," I said, trying to cover my steps before Aragorn came to the same conclusion that I had. "I should have worn a lighter dress."

I wondered if Shelly and Legolas really HAD up and decided to elope or if they were just tired of hanging with the crowd. _Either way, isn't that their business? I mean, if what Shelly said about Elven marriage is true, it's not like they can do anything dishonorable, because if they do, the act makes them married, which makes it acceptable..._ I shook my head, having confused myself.

"Do you know where they might be?" Aragorn asked me directly.

"Not a clue," I said honestly. "But I wouldn't worry about them."

He raised an eyebrow at me but returned to his breakfast.

"Was that true?" Frodo asked me in a whisper. "Do you really not know or is Aragorn simply not supposed to know?"

"No, I don't," I said. "But I really wouldn't worry."

I tried to think of what it might mean if they really HAD eloped. It would probably be harder on Shelly--well, both of them--to be separated when the Fellowship left. On the other hand, it would probably mean less hassle with Thranduil, if indeed there would be any hassle at all. If the books were wrong and something happened to Legolas, then at least they would have had their time. Same thing if Shelly's vision was right and anything happened to her. But if they both came out all right--which I certainly hoped was the case--then would it have been necessary?

By that point all the possibilities had ruined my appetite. I waited for the guys to finish eating and we went to training.

Shelly and Legolas didn't show up for that, either, and that really threw me off. It was a rough day training for me. My aim was bad in archery and I didn't win any fights during swordplay. After a while Frodo asked me to go for a walk and I was glad to escape.

We walked off, but once we were pretty much out of sight and earshot, he led me to a stone bench and I sat down. He stood in front of me, wanting to ask something. "What's the matter, Sarah? You know something, don't you? About Shelly and Legolas?"

I sighed. There was no keeping anything from him. "Well...yes and no."

He raised an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "No, neither Shelly nor Legolas said anything to me about any of their plans and I have no idea why neither of them have spoken to the Fellowship recently. But yes, I have an idea, and I'm not sure if they would carry it out or not. In our world I would have said no, but here, and with the whole Hobbit-and-Elf thing, and Lothlórien, and you guys leaving..."

"What is it?" Frodo asked me, bringing my rambling to a halt. He sat down beside me.

"Well...they might have eloped."

"Eloped?"

"Oh, that's not a word yet?" I asked, stalling.

"No. What is it?"

"Run off suddenly and gotten married with no warning."

"Like Hobbits do?" Frodo smiled.

I remembered what he'd said, about quiet courtships and sudden marriages. "Yes. Something like that."

He nodded. "I can't say that I'm sure about that either."

"And I don't want to say anything to Aragorn, for one, they may not have, they may just be hiding for a while, and for two, he's probably thought of it already, and for three, if he hasn't, I don't want to remind him and possibly fall victim to his wrath."

"I doubt he'd harm you as it wouldn't be your doing, but I wouldn't want to be Legolas."

I smiled. "Yeah. Do you think he'd be mad at them? I mean, after all, it's their choice, and he favors their relationship as far as them being right for each other..."

Frodo made a face like he was trying to figure it out. "Well...yes, but see...I think anyone in the Fellowship would agree that this would be a really irresponsible time to suddenly take a wife."

I looked up into his eyes and didn't respond to that.

"I mean, until the Quest is over, you know. To leave her here as his wife...it's just...if they're not married he isn't completely responsible for her. I imagine that with Legolas being the Prince he's already made sure she'll be taken care of for the rest of her life anyway, but he wouldn't have to. Once they're married, if he leaves her here alone and something happens to him...you see what I'm saying? It's hard to explain."

I nodded. "Sort of. I get it. And the other thing about getting married now...well...there could be another sort of problem. Not necessarily, but I certainly wouldn't want to risk it happening now if I were her."

"What's that?"

"Well...what if a child came into the equation?"

It took a minute for him to process that, but it was easy to see when it clicked. "Oh...right. That would be bad."

"And, you know, it wouldn't necessarily happen, but if it did..." I shrugged. "I mean, he'd be back before it was time, but if anything happened to him..." I rolled my eyes. "I keep saying that like I think it might. I highly doubt it, but still."

Frodo nodded. "I think it would be much smarter for them to wait until after the Quest is over."

There was a pause for a moment, and suddenly I caught the look his eyes and realized he was saying it as much about us as them. A moment's studying, and I could tell that beyond the reasons we'd discussed, he was thinking that he may not be coming back. I thought of what Sam said about the Wood-Elves in the Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition. _I don't know why. It makes me sad._ I did know why it made me sad, but I didn't know why it surprised me so much. The idea that the books were that far off and that he actually might not come back crossed my mind, but I refused to seriously consider it.

I kissed his cheek. "I wholeheartedly agree. But that's not our choice to make, and for all we know it may already have been made. And, like I said, ultimately, it's their business." I let him give me a longer, soft kiss.

"Do you really think they did?" he asked.

I had been wondering if he'd use the opportunity to talk about us or change the subject, and he'd changed it. I wasn't sure how I felt about that--I wasn't disappointed, exactly, but I wasn't relieved, either. I knew full well that he was right, and I did want to wait until after the Quest to marry him, but I was starting to wonder if he would even ask me before he left, or if he would save THAT for after the Quest as well. Either way the answer was yes, and it was up to him when to ask, but in my mind an engagement would make our relationship more legitimate to other people. If I told people I was in love with him, that would all be good and well, but if I could say I was his fiancée it would carry a little more weight.

I sighed. "I don't know. I just don't know."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four--

Shelly POV

Legolas' smile quickly faded. "But you love me. Why can't we be together?" Legolas asked, looking angry and hurt. "There is someone else, isn't there?"

Legolas did not even wait for my response, he just turned and ran. I waited until he was out of sight before I hit my knees in tears. After my vision, I had decided that no matter what, I wouldn't even agree to marriage until after the War of the Ring. If I died, then maybe he wouldn't take it so hard. Maybe it would be easier on him if I ended things and went back home. I had been thinking about it for a while and I still wasn't sure what to do. What if my vision never occurred? Then I would have thrown away my life with Legolas for no good reason. But if it did, Legolas would die of grief. Even if we somehow avoided it, my visions would probably always be there. I couldn't force Legolas to deal with that.

"What do I do?" I asked the wind.

"About what?" I heard a voice beside me answer.

"Aragorn," I said, as he came out of hiding. "Ada." I threw myself against his chest and began crying again.

"What's going on? I came to see how you had answered Legolas," Aragorn said, rubbing my back. "I figured I would know your answer, but now, I find you here crying. What has Legolas done?" he asked, seeming to get angry.

"Nothing, he only asked me to marry him," I answered, sobs beginning to shake my entire body again.

"I know. That's what he and I were talking about before you went for your walk. He asked my permission..." Aragorn trailed off.

"I said no." Once again the sobs took control and I sat there while Aragorn held me close.

"Why?"

"My visions," I answered simply.

"What about them?" Aragorn said, lightly.

"It wouldn't be fair to force him to live with those forever. I don't even want to live with them. I refuse to allow him to put up with them."

"Isn't that his choice?" Aragorn asked, still running his hand over my head.

"Yes, but that's not all. The vision I had...about Legolas and I...well, I...he...I looked dead and Legolas..." I started choking up again.

Understanding immediately lit up Aragorn's features. "You're afraid that you will die and Legolas will too. But what does that have to do with marriage?"

"If I marry him, our bond will only be stronger. If I end things with him now, he'll survive just fine without me. I may not, but eventually he will," I said. "Plus, I decided I wouldn't say yes to any marriage proposal until after the Quest is over."

"If Arwen had turned down my marriage request, I would have died right then," Aragorn whispered, pulling back.

"Please don't say that," I said, my chin beginning to quiver again. "Maybe I should leave. Go back home with my family where I belong."

"You belong where your heart lies. Where is that, Shelly?" Aragorn asked, tilting my chin up until I had to look him in the eyes.

"With Legolas," I answered, after a moment. "But if I die..."

"So don't marry him now, tell him you want to wait."

"But Aragorn..."

Aragorn had already turned to leave. I noticed that he didn't head the direction of the camp, but instead toward where Legolas had disappeared. I waited a few moments then followed them.

"Go away, Estel," I heard Legolas' angry voice say. "I do not want to hear anything from you."

"Legolas, mellon nin, I really did think that she would say yes. How was I to know what was going on with her?" Aragorn said, sadly. "She doesn't want to burden you with her problems."

"Nothing she could do could be a burden to me, except deny me her hand." Legolas was quiet for a moment. "Which she has done. I will die, Aragorn, but not now, I must wait until our task is done, until then I simply can never see her again," Legolas said, kind of coldly.

"Talk to her, Legolas. She needs to speak with you and you cannot hide from her forever."

"I can try," he said, bitterly.

"She may leave Middle Earth, Legolas," Aragorn said. "I don't want to lose her any more than you do."

"I just want to love her, Aragorn. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Give her time. It's not like you don't have an eternity with her," Aragorn said. "At least try and talk to her."

"I can't," Legolas said, simply.

"You've always been stronger than that," I said, coming out of hiding. "The Legolas I love wouldn't give up that easily." Aragorn grabbed my hand and squeezed it, then turned and left. "Legolas, please turn around."

At first he resisted, but in the end, he gave in and turned to face me.

"I love you, I need you to understand that," I said, "Do you know that?"

Legolas slowly nodded his head, like a young child trying to understand what he was being told. "You just don't want to marry me."

"Not now. After the Quest, probably, but I cannot marry you until then," I said, "Please, mellamin, understand..."

"Did you know," Legolas said, lost in thought, "I was going to ask you the other day in the royal talan?"

"I would've said yes then," I said, with a sad smile.

Legolas suddenly raised his head in understanding. "It was the vision this morning," he said, his voice soft with understanding, "Wasn't it?"

I nodded my head, tears springing to my eyes at the memory of it. "Yes."

"Oh, darling," he said, pulling me to hug him. "I'm so sorry." I held onto him tightly. "We can wait until you're ready. We don't have to get married now...we'll wait as long as you want," he said. "After all, we have forever to be together." He laughed.

"Okay," I said, wiping the tears away. "Now, hand over that ring."

"What?" asked my poor confused elf.

"That way I can say, 'Hey, I'm taken.'" I laughed.

"Whatever you want," he said, his eyes shining. "As long as you promise to marry me someday."

"Someday can be a long way away," I said, quietly.

"I could wait forever for you," he said, taking my left hand and slipping the ring onto my finger. "Hey, why is this here?" he said, indicating the other ring he gave me, which was now on my thumb.

"It was too big, it kept falling off," I said, smiling. "Besides, I kinda like it."

"So do I," he said, kissing the ring, then kissing me lightly on the lips. "Now let's go get you cleaned up, then we can tell everyone the good news," Legolas said, picking me up and carrying me to my flet. As he ran, I felt safe and protected back in the love of my life's arms. I felt like I was finally where I belonged.

Once I had changed, we began walking back towards the Fellowship's camp.

"Let's not say anything, let's wait for them to notice it," I whispered to him. He grinned broadly, then, nodded. We walked in holding hands and sat down by the fire. I looked around the circle and wondered what everyone would think. I knew that Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli would be happy for us. Sam would be slightly jealous, and Merry and Pippin wouldn't care. Frodo and Sarah, on the other hand, would be interesting. Cody and Mike probably wouldn't care--that is, unless I mentioned the elven custom. I giggled just imagining how red their faces would turn.

"What's so funny, Shelly?" Mike asked.

"I'll tell ya later," I said, sighing satisfactorily. So there was a possibility I may die--everyone around that circle might. At least I would die with the beautiful memories Legolas and I would have made together. I closed my eyes and fell asleep in Legolas' arms by the fire.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five--

Sarah POV

It was that evening after supper before Shelly and Legolas showed back up--hand-in-hand, but without any sort of announcement or explanation.

Frodo leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I don't think they did."

I looked over at the pair, casually seating themselves by the fire. I turned my head and whispered back, "Nor I...and that tickled."

In a brief moment I got a few kisses on my pointed ear, but a sharp glance from Pippin killed the mood.

The night passed normally; we stayed down by the Fellowship until we started to feel sleepy, and then Frodo and I went back to the flet. Tonight, however, a few minutes later I heard Shelly and Legolas come in, and Legolas didn't leave.

I frowned over at Frodo. "Do you think they'll get in trouble?"

He shook his head. "I wouldn't say anything to him, but I think that if he was going to keep anyone separate it should be us. I mean, those two--their customs..." He trailed off. "You know what I mean when I say it doesn't matter if they should decide to...elope?"

I giggled, nodding. "Yeah, true, it's different for us, but don't give Aragorn any ideas, okay? I couldn't sleep knowing you were so close by."

"Of course not. And like you said to Shelly, if he stops me from coming here, we'll simply go elsewhere."

When we woke in the morning we laid there quietly for a few moments, not talking or anything. After a while I heard Shelly and Legolas up and about. "I want to talk to Shelly," I said.

"Alone?"

"Preferably." I got up and went out in the main room, Frodo trailing behind me. "Shelly?" I called.

"Yeah, hang on a second." A moment later she came out of the dressing room, wearing another beautiful gown.

"Stunning as always, melamin," Legolas said, coming out of their room.

"Good morning, Legolas," I said.

"Good morning."

"Would you mind heading down to breakfast with Frodo and the Fellowship? I need to talk to Shelly for a minute. We'll be right there."

"Of course not, so long as you don't keep me from her very long. Come, Frodo, we'll walk together."

I gave Frodo a kiss on the cheek and Shelly did the same to Legolas, and the guys both left.

"Whatcha need?" Shelly asked.

"Legolas stayed here overnight. I thought that wasn't allowed anymore," I said.

Shelly smiled. "Well, some stuff happened yesterday, and I said some things to Aragorn, and last night he came and told me he thought that Legolas and I were being responsible enough that we could have the privilege reinstated."

"What'd you tell him?"

Shelly was smiling secretively. "You'll figure it out sooner or later," she said. She started to leave the room but I grabbed her hand, and then I figured it out almost instantly. Sort of. I took her hand differently.

"That's a new ring!"

"Uh-huh..."

I looked up at her. "Did Legolas give you this? What's it for? Are you--did you marry him?"

"No, we've agreed not to get married until after the Quest."

"But you've said you will marry him, then? You're engaged?"

Shelly nodded. "I guess I am, aren't I?"

I laughed. "That's generally what it means, when you tell someone you'll marry them. I'm so happy for you!" I hugged Shelly around the waist, as that was all I could reach. She knelt so we could really hug. "So what happened? Is that what made Aragorn change his mind?"

"Well, Legolas asked me yesterday, and at first I told him no."

"What?"

"Well, you know..."

"The vision," we said in unison.

Shelly nodded. "Right. I told him no and he ran off before I could explain myself, so I talked to Aragorn and told him that I WANTED to marry him, but I wanted to wait until after the Quest--by the way, don't say 'war' to any of them, I remembered that the other day, they don't know there's a war coming--and anyway, Aragorn made me go talk to him. But I think the stuff I said about not wanting to get married now made him realize that Legolas and I aren't just randomly going to do it, you know?"

I nodded. "So what happened with you and Legolas?"

"I found him and explained, and he said he'd wait forever for me, so I agreed to marry him--SOMEDAY--and accepted the ring."

I smiled and hugged her again. "That's so great!"

"I know!" She finally squealed. "It's just beginning to sink in--I'm engaged to the Prince of Mirkwood!"

I tilted my head. "He HAS a NAME!" Shelly and I both laughed insanely.

"Oh my gosh, Sarah, I'm engaged to Legolas!"

I smiled. "What would you have said a month ago if someone had told you where you'd be and what you'd be doing--even what you'd BE, right this minute?"

"I wouldn't have believed them."

"We are the luckiest girls in two worlds," I said.

"Yeah. Hey, we better get down to breakfast before they send up--" There was a knock on the door. "A search party," Shelly finished. "Come in!"

And lo and behold, it was none other than the Mighty Marchwarden himself. "Hi, Haldir!" I said.

"Hello, ladies. The Prince and the Ringbearer asked me to come and see what was taking you so long."

Shelly and I looked at each other, and informed Haldir in unison, "They have names!"

He just stared at us while we laughed insanely. "Come, I will accompany you to the encampment." He turned on his heel and the two of us followed him down there.

"Do you ever smile?" I asked him.

"What sort of question is that?" he retorted.

"The sort I want you to answer. I don't think you do."

"Oh, really?" Haldir stopped and turned to face us. He had a slightly amused kind of half-smile on his face.

I giggled. "Nice try," I told him sarcastically. "Don't quit your day job." I walked on ahead and I could hear Shelly trying to explain to him what I'd said. When we got there, Frodo rose to greet me.

"Hello, love, did you miss me?" I asked, kissing his cheek. He helped me sit next to him and passed me a plate.

"Always," he said.

After breakfast, as always, we trained for about two hours. I caught Shelly before she and Legolas ran off and I had her bend down to where I could whisper in her ear. "Can I tell Frodo?" So far no one else seemed to know besides Aragorn. "And when will the rest know?"

"The rest will know when they figure it out. But you can tell Frodo."

I smiled and ran off to join my boyfriend. I started jumping up and down while I walked, occasionally hopping on one foot and skipping around.

"YOU'RE certainly happy about something," Frodo said.

"Really? Geez, what was your first clue?" I asked, still bouncing in circles around him as we walked into the woods.

"You're like that pink rabbit in those stupid commercials back in your world."

At that I had to stop and have a wild laughter fit. "Do you mean the Energizer Bunny?" I asked. At his blank look I added, "The one that keeps going and going and going..."

"Yes! That one! Now what are you all excited about?"

I looked around to make sure no one was "dropping any eaves." "Legolas asked Shelly to marry him and she said yes!" I squealed again. "Isn't that great?"

Frodo smiled. "Yeah, but what of the Quest?"

"Oh, no, they're not going to get married now. Shelly's stipulation was that they wait until after the Quest. But the point is, they ARE definitely-for-sure going to get married SOMEDAY." _And I wouldn't mind having the same sort of arrangement between US, love..._

"Oh, in that case, that's wonderful," Frodo agreed.

"You can't tell anyone, Shelly said," I informed him. "It's her news to share."

"Of course."

At dinner that evening I realized that I hadn't spoken to Cody or Mike in a while, so I sat near them and talked with them.

"What have you two been up to?" I asked.

"We hang out with Haldir a lot," Mike said. "And the rest of the time we stay here. We finally moved our stuff here from our flet because it was getting annoying to walk back and forth all the time."

"We put in a lot more training than you girls," Cody added. "That's why we're better than you are."

"Maybe at swords," I said. "But I highly doubt that any of you three--Shelly included--could outshoot me. And I certainly wouldn't want any of us to have to go against her with that axe. At least not seriously, you know?"

"She be a crazy woman with the axe," Mike said in a funny voice. I laughed. It wasn't really true but the way he'd said it was funny.

"You two really don't have all that much here by way of entertainment, do you?" I asked. "It's not like you have girlfriends to go hang out with. Being in the most romantic spot on all of Middle-Earth is kind of pointless for you, isn't it?"

"Well..." Cody said. "There was this one Elf girl I might have had a chance with, but she really wasn't digging the whole...human thing."

I laughed. "You just can't pull grunge the way Aragorn can," I told him.

"What?"

I shrugged. "It worked on Arwen." That earned me a small laugh.

Frodo and I stayed down with the group again that night, me and him nestled in among my dear little brothers and Samwise.

I sighed contentedly, watching the fire dying down to embers. "I could stay lost in this moment, forever..." I sang softly, for Frodo's ears only. He didn't say anything, didn't even open his eyes, but he smiled sweetly. I kissed him ever so softly and fell asleep.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six--

Shelly POV

As Legolas was walking me back to my flet for the night, Aragorn came out of the trees. "I see you two got everything worked out." He grinned.

I smiled shyly and leaned into Legolas' arms, which quickly encircled my waist and held me close to him. "Yes, mellon nin, we did," Legolas answered for both of us, smiling at me.

"Well, I suppose after all the two of you have been through, I can trust you in your flet alone...overnight."

"Ada, are you saying...?" I began to ask.

"Legolas may spend the night in your flet," Aragorn said.

"Thank you," I said, pulling out of Legolas' embrace and hugging Aragorn tightly.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I'll go check on the others," Aragorn said, smiling as he walked away.

I have to admit, it felt great to wake up next to Legolas and not worry about where we were or hurrying back to change clothes. Once Sarah found out about the engagement, we joined the entire Fellowship plus Mike and Cody for breakfast. Afterwards, as Legolas and I were headed to the training fields, Aragorn came up behind us.

"So, how did you sleep last night?"

"Better than I have in several days," I said, grinning from ear to ear. "Thanks again, for giving us back our freedom."

"No problem, daughter," Aragorn said, winking at me.

Once we reached the training area, I practiced my hardest. I had been using one of Legolas' twin blades as a sword for a while. As I fought with it, it felt natural to me. My moves had been becoming more and more graceful. I felt like I at least half-way knew what I was doing.

After we'd been there about two hours, Legolas and I left to go for a walk. I told Sarah she could tell Frodo, but no one else. As soon as Legolas and I were out of hearing range, he pulled me to him and began to kiss me. It started out light and slow, but soon, our kiss deepened. When we finally pulled apart, I just stood there in his arms. I couldn't help but wonder what my family would think if they could see me now.

_Suddenly, I saw a beautiful scene unfold before my eyes. My parents were there and so was my sister, Kim. They were sitting around the table at my house, with my grandmother from my dad's side. She and I had always been really close. I use to stay with her in the summers. We'd watch movies all night long, and I really loved to watch the cartoons like "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty." _

_"Where's Shelly?" I heard my grandmother's lovely soft voice ask._

_"That's why we asked you to come over, Mom," my dad said, taking my mom's hand into his own. "Shelly has...well...it's all here in this letter she left. It was inside the envelope with ours."_

_I watched my grandma's fluffy hands unfold the letter I had written her over two weeks ago. It basically told her I had fallen in love like Cinderella, and I had left to be with him. I could always open up more to my grandmother than I could my parents. She simply understood better. As she read it, I watched as her eyes filled with tears. My own eyes did the same as I watched her. She seemed to be debating about something in her mind. _

_"Well," Grandma said, after a few long moments, "I hope my princess is happy and that the boy is worth her."_

_At that, my mom broke down into tears. My mom is probably the strongest woman I know. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen her cry and I'd never seen her like this. Sobs were wracking her entire body. I wanted to hug her and tell her I loved her, to let her know that love was worth it._

_"How can you accept it so much easier than we can?" my mom finally asked._

_"Because I knew it would happen someday," Grandma said, pulling my entire family into a hug._

Don't worry, I am happy, Grandma. I'll always love you, though, I thought._ Suddenly, my grandmother's face lit up. "Linda," Grandma said to my mom, "She's happy and she'll be fine, but she will always love her family."_

_"How do you know, Mom?" my dad asked, holding my sister closely to him._

_"I can just feel it, Ken," Grandma said, to my dad. "Can you imagine how hard it must be for her to leave all of you? Her letter says it all. The only way for her to be with him was to leave. Linda, don't you remember what it was like to fall in love?" Grandma asked._

_Mom looked over at Dad and smiled. "Yeah, I do."_

_"I hope she knows we'll always be here. No matter what," my sister said._

_"Don't worry, sissy. I'll never forget it," I said aloud._

Suddenly the vision was gone and I was back in Lothlórien with the love of my life.

"See anything interesting?" Legolas asked, his hold on my waist tightening. He knew, of course, what had been happening to me.

"My grandmother understands, Legolas. I can see it in her eyes. I think my family will be okay now," I said, beginning to tear up.

"Tell me about your grandmother," Legolas said.

"Well, which one?" I asked, trying to buy time. I knew if I talked about Grandma Mary it would only hurt and I would cry.

"You know which one...and it doesn't matter if you cry," Legolas said, reading my thoughts as if they were his own.

"All right. Let's sit down, though," I said. We found a spot underneath one of the beautiful mallorn trees in Lórien. "When I was a small child, I would spend the summers with her. We would watch movies, mostly Disney ones or black and white ones, all night long. She always has encouraged me to dream big and to not be afraid," I said, smiling at many of the memories Grandma and I shared. "She's one of the gentlest women in the entire world." Tears were streaming down my face. Legolas held me and just let me cry over my lost family.

Soon, we were up and walking back to the camp. As we entered, I noticed everyone was eating dinner, so Legolas and I sat down near the back of everyone. I overheard the guys telling Sarah they were probably better at swords than we were. I turned to Legolas and merely raised an eyebrow. He grinned, knowing exactly what I was thinking. _I don't think so. I could beat either of them._

The next day, I decided to test him on that. So, when I saw Mike and Cody leave for training, Legolas and I followed. As they trained, so did we. Once the guys were working kind of alone I walked over to Haldir and asked him to help me with my plan. He grinned deviously and agreed. I practiced my bow for a few minutes after that. I was actually rather good now. I practically always hit the bullseye and hardly had to try anymore. Suddenly, I heard Haldir's voice.

"Cody, I would like you and Mike to fight someone that should be at the same level as you to see how much you have improved. Shelly, would you agree to help us?" he asked, walking over to me.

"Certainly, Marchwarden." I turned to Legolas, who handed me one of his blades without saying a word. I gave him a quick peck on the lips, then turned to face Cody. We began at first rather slowly, as I didn't want him to realize I had been practicing with the blade as well as my new axe that the Lady had made specially for me. At first, I simply blocked his attacks. Finally, though, he lunged at me, just a little too far. I kicked his hand, making him drop his sword, and proceeded to catch it before it hit the ground. Then, Haldir sent Mike in to fight with us. It was amazing--I had never fought two people at once, but I instinctively knew what they were going to do. It flowed quite naturally. Finally they were each on separate sides of me, and I could tell just by looking at them how frustrated they were. They ran at me and I dodged. It looked like something right out of an action comedy, as they ran smack dab into each other. As they looked up from the ground, I simply began to sing.

"Can't touch this," I sang, happily. "Can't touch this. Nananana...can't touch this. Whoa, whoa...stop...Hammertime," I sang, dancing out of the clearing. As soon as I was out of hearing, I began to laugh hysterically, taking a seat on a rock. Cody and Mike found me in a few moments, but as they were pulling me to my feet, Cody suddenly looked down at my left hand.

"WHAT IS THAT?" Cody asked, or rather yelled.

"I think it's a ring," Mike informed him. "You know, it's a little metal circle people wear around their fingers, to make their hands pretty..."

"I know that! I meant, why is she wearing it on her left hand?" Cody said, hitting Mike upside the head.

"Well, isn't that generally where you wear an engagement ring?" I asked, walking out of the woods and leaving their confused faces behind.

* * *

A/n: I decided to give Shelly visions because of her family. The other stuff came into it later, but I know if I was off somewhere where I couldn't contact my family I would want more than anything to know how they are. That's the main reason that Shelly was gifted with visions. The only thing she regretted about leaving for Legolas was that she lost her family. While she's stuck seeing some sucky things, she also gets this gift of seeing her family.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven--

Sarah POV

By the next evening, everyone knew about Shelly and Legolas' engagement--those who hadn't found out already heard it in an announcement from Legolas that night at dinner.

Cody and Mike took it fairly well once it was explained to them that the lovebirds were going to wait until the war was over. Actually, Cody seemed rather pleased by it--and, after all, he had predicted that since both Legolas and Frodo were gentlemen, Shelly and I would both end up married.

Aragorn couldn't have been more proud, Sam seemed excited (though not surprised), and Gimli seemed to have a twinkle in his eye that hadn't been there before. Merry and Pippin took this bit of news with all the dignity they usually spent on "romance." I couldn't help but notice that Boromir looked a little wistful while Legolas was talking, and I wondered if he regretted never falling in love--because, of course, now it was too late.

I tried to push the thought from my mind, but I couldn't. I went over and sat next to Boromir.

"Hello, Halfling lass," he greeted. "I've grown used to you now, and it seems strange to think of what you once were."

I smiled. "I know...some moments I'm completely into this Hobbit thing, you know, I forget what it was like to be anything else, and have to wear shoes and not put my hair up to sleep, and then I want something that's on a top shelf."

Boromir laughed. "Do you miss it? Your home, your inventions?"

"Well...yes and no. I'm sure I'll miss it more when you leave, when Frodo's not here to occupy my time. Just at present I haven't really thought about it all that much. I miss my CDs, and my books. I sorely miss my books, I think if I had had more time to think about it I might have brought the Narnia books, and 'The Last Unicorn.' But the minute I name those I think of more, and I don't know where to draw the line, so I left them all behind."

Boromir nodded. "What, pray tell, is this 'Last Unicorn' you speak of?"

I smiled. "It's a story about the last unicorn left in the world. When she realizes that she's the last one she goes on a quest to find out what happened to the rest of them, and rescue them if they're not all gone. It's complicated, but there's a lot of beautiful thoughts in it. Peter S. Beagle wrote some of the loveliest prose in the world."

"Like what?"

"Well..." I tried to think of a line that Boromir would understand without a lot of explanation. At last I quoted, "Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story."

He smiled softly. "That brings me hope. The Quest is not sheer madness, is it?"

I wasn't sure if he was just asking me to cheer him up or if he wanted me to tell him the ending. "Of course not." I bit my lip. "What about you? Do you miss home?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I miss Faramir and Taramir."

"Your siblings?"

He nodded. "Faramir is off in Ithilien for the time being, and I'm certain he's all right, but I worry for Taramir, being left at home alone. I know she's taken care of, but Faramir and I are the only ones who really talk to her, and I'm sure she's lonely."

I tried to reassure him. "You'll see her soon." It wasn't true, and he would find that out sooner than I cared to think of, but it was all I could think to say.

"Are you sure of that?" Boromir asked. "This Quest...it lays heavy on my mind." He didn't want to say it aloud, but I was pretty sure that he sensed his doom in some form or another. I think that he took it to mean the failure of the Quest and the world falling under shadow rather than only his death, but either way he was seeking comfort.

I sighed. "One of the characters in 'The Last Unicorn' was granted immortality until such time as he finished his quest, and then when he finally did it, he would resume aging and eventually die," I said. "And the opposite happens to the unicorn. She gets turned into a human girl for a little while, and when she says that she can feel the human body dying, he tells her, 'I was born mortal, and I have been immortal for a long, foolish time, and one day I will be mortal again; so I know something that a unicorn cannot know. Whatever can die is beautiful--more beautiful than a unicorn, who lives forever, and who is the most beautiful creature in the world.'" I paused. "But you know, I think I liked my first quote better, and I would have you take that one to heart, and not this one."

Boromir nodded somberly. "I will."

It was several minutes before either of us spoke, and when he broke the silence, it was just to tell me that it looked like they were going to tell stories by the fire, and neither one of us should miss that. I smiled, realizing his pensive mood had passed for the moment.

After that night, the days kind of blurred together for a while. We trained and ate and kissed (well, some of us, anyway) and laughed and had another dance and slept, and for a while I entirely forgot about keeping the date straight. One night, however, we were back sitting by the fire, and I tried to work out how long it had been. I turned to Frodo. "Do you know what the date is, by Shire reckoning?"

He scrunched his face up, closing one eye while he thought about it. "Let's see...it was two days ago when they told me, and then in Shire reckoning...it's February thirteenth."

"Ohh..." I bit my lip, hating to remind him, but he thought of it himself.

"We're leaving soon," he said, almost shocked.

"I know." I had been leaning back against a rock and his arm was draped over my shoulders, but now I snuggled really close. "It's too soon."

"It's always too soon, love." He sighed. "Do you really think you can do it again?"

"Don't make me worry about that for two more days, okay?"

"Right..."

"Hey, you know what?"

"What?"

"That makes tomorrow February the FOURTEENTH."

"And?"

I laughed. "Back home, that's Valentine's Day!"

"And what, pray tell, is Valentine's Day?" Frodo asked.

"Well, it's a holiday set aside for people to celebrate being in love. Couples exchange presents and cards and stuff, and sometimes if you like someone you tell them on Valentine's Day, and people generally use it as an excuse to be mushy." I nodded wisely. "I think we should celebrate it."

Frodo laughed. "Well, I'm all for being mushy, but why is it called Valentine's Day?"

"Because the cards people exchange are called valentines. Sometimes the one you're in love with is called that, too, your valentine." I shrugged. "Most people decorate with red, pink, and white, and lots of little hearts and stuff." I spent a little while explaining the ins and outs of it to him, the legends of Cupid and St. Valentine, the idea of a Hallmark holiday, the traditional gift of chocolate and everything.

"I agree, we should celebrate this," he said. "In fact, love, if you don't mind, I'm going to see what I can do about it."

I smiled. "Go right ahead." I gave him a peck on the cheek. He got up and pulled Legolas aside, and they walked off together. I went and sat by Shelly.

"Where are they off to?" she asked.

I smiled. "I just spent the better part of the last thirty minutes explaining to Frodo, in detail, about Valentine's Day--which, by Shire reckoning, is tomorrow."

Shelly's eyes lit up. "And are we going to--"

"I told him everything, and I think he's telling Legolas. So I think tomorrow we will be celebrating." I smiled widely. "It should be fun. Of course, the bad news is that they're leaving soon."

Shelly frowned. "When?"

"Tomorrow's the fourteenth, they're leaving the sixteenth."

She nodded. "Already. It seems like we just got here."

"Yeah, no kidding." I sighed. "I'm focusing on tomorrow first, and THEN I'll worry about that."

That night when Frodo and I crawled into bed, I asked him what he and Legolas had talked about, but he refused to tell me anything. "It's bad enough that you know we're up to something, at least let what we're up to be a surprise." I sighed in mock frustration and gave him a quick peck of a kiss. He smiled. "However, don't make plans for tomorrow evening."

"All right, fair enough." I snuggled down next to him. "But I am going to drive you insane tomorrow, asking you about it."

"You might not want to drive me too insane, I'm kind of vital to the plan."

I laughed. "We'll see."

He fell asleep first, and my last thought before I drifted off was that I needed to try and figure out some sort of present for him.

The next day, we had breakfast and did training as usual, but after training Frodo came to me. "Legolas and I have things to do, love, so if you don't mind I'll leave you for now and see you later."

"All right." I gave him a quick kiss. "Happy Valentine's Day."

He smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day," he echoed, and then walked off.

Shelly came over to me. "Do you know what they're doing?" she asked, watching our boyfriends leaving together.

I shook my head. "Frodo wouldn't say a word. I'm kind of glad they're going to be busy, though--it gives me time to think of a present for Frodo."

"You think they'll want presents?"

"They won't be expecting them, but that makes them all the more fun to give," I said. "Come on, let's go back to the flet and brainstorm...and figure out what to wear."


	28. Chapter 28

SHELLY: "Diola lle" means "thank you," "lle creoso" means "you're welcome," and "lle merna salk?" means "would you care to dance?" or something similar.

Chapter Twenty-Eight--

Shelly POV

"I don't have anything to wear," I whined. Sarah and I had got a plan together fairly quickly and we had moved on to the harder task of deciding what to wear. We had chosen a beautiful little red dress for Sarah, but I was a completely different story. I just couldn't seem to find anything that I thought would "tickle Legolas' fancy." "Sarah, I have nothing to wear." I whined again.

"You have plenty to wear, just nothing you _want_ to wear," Sarah said, smiling. I simply glared and stuck my tongue out at her. I swear, she can be the most particular person about word usage.

"Thank you, Ms. Politically Correct," I said, more severely than I meant to. "I just want to look as good as I possibly can."

"Shelly, you look fine no matter what you wear," Sarah said, looking thorough my dresses again. "What about this one?" She asked, pulling out the blue one I had worn to the ball.

"But he's already seen me in it."

"So? He thought you were beautiful, didn't he?" Sarah said, smiling.

"Yeah," I said, blushing. "I'll wear that one, then."

Once we were both dressed, we arranged our hair. Sarah put mine up in two braids that circled around to make a kind of crown around my head. Apparently Sarah didn't trust me with her hair because she arranged it herself. Then we began to plan for our presents to the guys.

Sarah agreed to work really hard on mine. She had sketched a picture of Legolas and I together when we had all gone on a picnic a few weeks ago, so she agreed to turn it into a small picture that Legolas could take with him when he left. I had also borrowed his twin blades before he and Frodo had gone that morning. Sarah had already figured out her present, so after she finished the picture I took Legolas' twin blades to the leather toolers and got them to put my name on the handles--not where it would be really noticeable, but where Legolas would see it every time he used them. Finally, we were ready and just waiting on the guys.

Cody and Mike dropped by for a few minutes to let us know the guys would be there soon. However, the four of us sat down and began to plan our route for after the Fellowship left. We would wait at least one day after they left in order to meet Gandalf the White. After that, depending on if we could get Haldir to go with us, we would head for Helm's Deep. I was still really unsure of allowing Cody and Mike to go, but I knew that I had no choice. If I didn't let them come with us, then they wouldn't let us go--and much as I hated to admit it, they COULD stop us. Just as we were finishing up, I heard Frodo and Legolas down below us. "Sarah, I hope you're ready," I said.

"Why?" she asked, rather confused.

"They're here." I grinned nervously at her.

Mike and Cody just rolled their eyes. "You do know that there is no such thing as Valentine's Day here?" Cody asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just wait until you're in love. Then you'll understand." I said, grinning at the door.

Legolas entered the room. "Yes, it is the best experience I have ever had," he said, walking over. He was followed closely by Frodo...I think. I only had eyes for one man--_elf_--and that was the one that stood in front of me holding a single red rose. I knew this was going to be the most romantic night of my life.

Sarah, Frodo, Legolas and I climbed down from the flet. Once we reached the ground, there was a path of rose petals. At random points, there would be two or three roses lying in the middle of the path. Finally we reached a place where the path diverged and trailed off to two different clearings. Sarah and I smiled at each other when we were led down different paths. Legolas had been holding my hand the entire way. Once we reached the clearing, he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. "So, what do you think?" he whispered.

When I looked at what I saw, I had to fight tears. There was a table for two set with candles and another single red rose in a vase in the center of the table.

"I think you are the best boyfriend--no, fiancé--in the entire world," I said softly. He smiled, then gently led me to the table and pulled the chair out for me. Soon, the food was brought in and we began to eat. We kept the conversation light, both avoiding the topic of the Fellowship's departure from Lórien.

"Thank you, Legolas. I can't believe you did all this just for me," I said as we were finishing our dinner.

"I would do anything for you. I would fly to the moon just to see your smile," Legolas said. "Now, let's have some dessert." As he said that, a pie was brought in. Legolas smiled at me and served me a piece. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of pie this was. I took a small bite and put it into my mouth.

"APPLE!" I said, excitedly. "How could you have known that that was my favorite pie?" I grinned.

Legolas smiled sheepishly, "Well, Frodo and I _did_ have a little help with all of this."

"Cody and Mike."

"More Cody than Mike. Cody knew more about your favorite pies and such than Mike."

"I guess that's what happens when you are friends with a person for so long," I said, giggling inwardly at the fact that Cody had helped set this up.

"Well, he told us a few other things about Valentine's Day, too." Legolas said, pulling a box from behind his back and handing it to me. I wondered what he would give me in a box like that. I took the lid off and there sat one of my favorite delicacies, one that I never thought I would see again--a chocolate heart.

"How did you get chocolate?" I said.

"Cody and Mike," Legolas answered. "They said to tell you that this is their gift to you and Sarah."

I smiled, wondering how in the world they could have gotten chocolate--though surely they'd had to bring it from our world--but deciding I'd rather not know. "This is fantastic," I said, eating a small piece. "Try some."

"All right," Legolas said, reaching to break off a piece.

"No," I said, batting his hand away. I took a piece and fed it to him. "This is the way to eat chocolate on Valentine's Day." I grinned.

Suddenly, I heard a band start to play. "Would the future Queen of Mirkwood care for a dance?" Legolas asked, offering his hand. We began to waltz, but my heart was not truly in it. I kept thinking about his words. _Future Queen? I can't even keep my room clean. For goodness sakes, I can't even be the leader in Follow the Leader, how am I to help lead a country?_ It was troubling, but as we danced, these doubts flew from my mind, because being in Legolas' arms always made me incapable of real thoughts.

"I love you so much," I said, quietly, as the waltz came to an end.

"And I love you." Legolas quietly handed me a small box. I opened it to find a locket, on one side was one of the pictures of Legolas and I at home, on the other was a picture of my family I'd hidden in my bag. On the back, there was an inscription in Elvish. The English translation is _With all the love of my heart, Legolas._

"Darling, it's so beautiful," I could not come up with anything more clever to say. "Diola lle," I thanked him in Elvish.

"Lle creoso," he said, "I decided you could use that while I was gone."

With fresh tears in my eyes, I reached into the hidden pocket of my dress. "Here, it isn't much, nor is it as grand as what you have given me, but I believe you will like it." Legolas took the small package from me. I had made a small frame for the picture so he could keep it in his pouch as they traveled. I watched his face closely as he opened it. His eyes immediately filled with tears and he pulled me to him.

"Thank you so much, melamin," He whispered.

"A'maelamin, words cannot express the happiness you have shown me," I said, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Now, since the orchestra is still playing, lle merna salk?" I said. He smiled and we began to dance again.

A little while later, we began walking back to the talan. Once we reached it, I made him sit down and ran to the bedroom to give him the rest of his gift. "I borrowed these earlier, so I thought I would return them." I said, handing him his blades.

When he noticed my name, he laughed. "Dearest, you are never going to believe this." Legolas walked over to the door and picked up another package I hadn't noticed before. "This is for you, too."

I took it and began to open it. Once I opened it, I realized that they were my own set of twin blades, identical to Legolas'. "What about...?" I started, but Legolas cut me off.

"I know you have your axe, but I figured you could always use these, too," Legolas said, smiling. I began to inspect mine closely and immediately noticed that on the end was Legolas' name. I looked at him and we both began to chuckle.

"We're just a couple of romantic fools," I said, sighing contentedly in my fiancé's arms.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine--

Sarah POV

It didn't take Shelly and I long to get dressed and fancied up, and I wondered if maybe we were getting used to having to do it. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, I never had been one to get excited at the idea of getting dressed up. I helped Shelly with her hair--I know how hard it is to braid one's own hair, and I also didn't envy her waist-length locks. I put the top half of mine up in a braided knot and let the rest hang down. Trying to get the knot to stay in place made me miss my chopsticks, and I made a note to myself to make some new ones. I would have brought them with me, but they were all made of plastic and I felt kind of guilty bringing elastics to Middle-Earth as it was.

Shelly convinced me to finish up a sketch I'd started so she could give it to Legolas. I didn't tell her that I'd done that for Frodo a while back, or that I'd put song lyrics on the back of his. After I finished it for her, she left and I set about getting my present for Frodo ready. I finished before she got back, and all we had to do was wait. Fortunately, Cody and Mike showed up and we discussed our plans in more detail.

"Can you believe it's only two more days?" Mike asked. Cody punched him in the arm.

"We were trying to avoid that thought," Shelly said.

Almost right after we were finished, Frodo and Legolas showed up. Frodo walked right to me, hands behind his back, and as he came close he produced a white rosebud, with the faintest tinge of lavender on the tips. I took it and gave him a soft, light kiss.

"You like it, then?"

"Are you kidding? You even knew to get a bud and not one in full bloom." I'm picky about flowers, I like simple ones better than ones with a lot of frilly petals.

He smiled and took my free hand, and we followed Shelly and Legolas down several staircases to the forest floor and a rose-petal path. It was almost like a wedding aisle after the flower girl had marched. I said as much to Frodo and had to explain it, but he smiled at me anyway.

At last there was a fork in the path, and I smiled at Shelly as Frodo led me one way and she and Legolas went the other way.

Frodo and I ended up at a beautiful fountain with a sculpture perched atop it, a sculpture of a young couple. On seeing that the girl looked very much like Arwen, I asked, "Is that Beren and Lúthien?"

"Yes." Frodo wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, imitating the pose of the statue, smiling knowingly. "I thought it was appropriate." I leaned in and we kissed. He brushed his nose against mine. "Come over here, I have dinner ready for us." Sure enough, on the other side of the fountain he had a picnic dinner spread out.

After we ate, he led me back to the fountain. He stood behind me with his hands on my waist and whispered, "They say if you make a wish here, it will come true."

"Really?"

"Well, why not try it?"

"What do you have to do?" I asked.

"Just close your eyes and make the wish." I closed my eyes, but he interrupted, "Don't make a wish about the Quest, you can do that later, after I'm gone. Wish for something sweet right now."

"Sweet? That's easy." I closed my eyes and made my wish.

"So what did you wish for?"

"In my world, if you tell what you wished for, it won't come true." I smiled, and turned to face him. "Though after you, what more could I possibly want?"

He smiled. "True enough."

I laughed. "I loved the rose-petal path," I said. "That was beautiful."

"I thought it was too pretty to walk on. I didn't want to step on the roses."

"They say a rose cannot emit its full fragrance until it's crushed," I said. "And it's a metaphor for people, too." I leaned against him, cheek-to-cheek. "I hope that's true," I sighed.

Frodo read into it exactly what I'd meant. "Am I to be crushed, then?"

"Not literally, love." _Well...almost...but no._

"Let's not think about that, then. Tonight is for you." I pulled back and looked at him, half-shocked. "What?" he asked.

"You quoted--well, no, you have to know the original to quote, but you said something from the third movie. 'Tonight is for you.'" I smiled. "People you don't know were talking about a celebration you won't be at and I can't tell you anything." I hugged him close. "But don't worry about it." I pulled back again. "Now." We sat on the edge of the edge of the fountain. "You want to know what the rose made me think of?"

"What's that?" he asked.

"This poem that I read a long time ago in my world called 'A White Rose'. I had just started liking romantic stuff, I must have been all of twelve or thirteen, and I thought it was so beautiful that I copied it down and memorized it. Who was it that wrote it? I think his name was...John. John Boyle O'Reilly."

"Do you still know it? I'd love to hear it."

"Let me think," I said, searching for it in the furthest reaches of my memory. "Something about red and white roses and the rhyme was 'love' and 'dove'...and...got it. Okay, here goes...The red rose whispers of passion/And the white rose breathes of love/O, the red rose is a falcon,/And the white rose is a dove." Frodo listened intently, and I played with the rose he'd given me as I continued. "But I send you a cream-white rosebud/With a flush on its petal tips,/For the love that is purest and sweetest..." I leaned in close to him and our noses brushed. "Has a kiss of desire on the lips."

Obviously, our lips crashed together in a long, slow kiss. "Happy Valentine's Day, love," Frodo whispered.

I giggled lightly. "Happy Valentine's Day. Hey, I have a present for you."

Frodo tilted his head, studying me curiously. "What? I have one for you, too, but I wasn't expecting anything."

"All the more reason." I pulled the box from my pocket and handed it to him, and he went to the table, pulled two boxes from underneath it, and when he sat back down we traded.

"You first," he said.

"Okay." I ripped the paper off mine to discover a red leather-bound book. Wondering what sort of story it might contain, I immediately started flipping through it, only to discover it was blank. I flipped to the front page and found an inscription in Frodo's handwriting.

_Dearest love;_

_Very soon we are going to be apart for what seems an age. I'm not gladly anticipating the separation, but after thinking I had lost you forever I cannot truly complain. However, since you know what will happen to me and I will know nothing of your doings, my gift to you on this "Valentine's Day" is really just as much a gift to myself--I give you this diary with hopes that you will write to me about what happens to you while we're parted, and that when we are reunited you will let me read it._

_I love you with all my heart,_

_Your love, Frodo_

Tears welled up in my eyes and I threw my arms around Frodo's neck. "Of course I will, love." Beyond the beauty of what he'd written, what he didn't know was that several years ago I had started keeping a journal for "my future husband," whoever that turned out to be, and I had brought it with me to Middle-Earth with the intention of giving it to him once we were married. He had just given me the book I would write in as a "final volume." At last I laughed lightly. "That's hard to beat," I said. "My present pales in comparison--though it's rather similar."

"I doubt that," Frodo said, unwrapping it carefully. "The paling in comparison part, I mean." He discovered that I had also given him a small blank book, but instead of a letter asking him to write to me, the first several pages were filled with my handwriting. "What is all this?" he asked.

"Song lyrics, one-liners, things we've talked about, a couple of bad sketches--" --Frodo laughed at that-- "--Just...all kinds of things that we've shared. Look."

He flipped through it, skimming it all, and finally came to the first page, which simply read "Now." I'd drawn vines trailing all over it. "It's a memory book," I said. "So you don't forget anything we've done, to help you remember things while we're apart."

"I love it," he said.

I flushed with happiness. "Come back to the flet and I'll write in the roses poem for you." He kissed me soundly and we went back so I could do just that. I dated the page and wrote "Happy Valentine's Day" and drew little red hearts and stuff.

After that, we found a place on the walkways where we could sit and overlook Lothlórien, and we talked half the night away, not going to bed until the wee hours of the morning. We went to breakfast late the next morning, and right after we arrived, the dear Marchwarden came and asked for Aragorn to come with him.

Aragorn didn't come back until the middle of training, where he promptly announced that he had spoken with the Lady Galadriel and it had been settled--the Fellowship was leaving at dawn.

I sighed loudly and let Frodo pull me into his arms. "We knew it was coming," he reminded me.

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it pleasant."

After lunch, the Fellowship all started packing. Frodo asked me to stay down at the encampment while he packed, just to have me near him as long as possible. I sat, leaning back against a giant mallorn, watching him pack. "Can you advise me as to what I'll need?" he asked suddenly. "You know where my quest will take me."

I pondered that for a moment. I wouldn't be giving anything away if I told him only to take practical things, would I? "Well...you don't want to take too much, because you have to carry it and all...I mean, clothes and food, yeah, but beyond that..."

He frowned. "Will I have anyting left when I return?"

"When you leave here, the Lady will be giving you gifts. I will not say what, but you'll be very grateful for them by the time you're done."

"So I will still have them?"

I shrugged. "Figure it out for yourself. You know my hands are tied, I can't tell you anything." He mock-scowled at me, lifted his neatly folded cloak, and started to put it into his pack atop the clothes already contained within.

"You won't need that," I said, almost before I could stop myself.

"Why?"

"Ooops. Oh well." I looked around to make sure the others weren't listening to me, then told him, "The Lady will be giving every member of the Fellowship an elven-cloak, and you'll much prefer that. It's made to help camouflage you, and trust me, you'll want to wear it."

Frodo nodded. "Such a shame to discard this one, though," he said, fingering the fine green wool. Suddenly he looked up. "You don't have any traveling clothes as yet."

"Well, no." As far as he knew I wasn't doing any traveling. I wanted him to think that I was perfectly safe in Lothlórien the entire time he was gone, because that way he wouldn't worry about me.

"Then you take it." He handed it to me.

"What?"

He smiled. "You take it. You don't have one, and as I've told you before, you look lovely in green."

I took it into my hands and lifted it to my face, breathing in deeply. It carried his scent, fresh-baked bread and sunshine and new-mown hay. I smiled. "When I wear it, it'll feel like your arms are wrapped around me, like you're there with me."

He smiled. "I had hoped so. Now, what else should I take?"

I gave approval for the various practical items he had, knowing he'd end up discarding them on the road, but that they would serve their purpose in the meantime. "I wouldn't advise taking trinkets," I said. "Beyond the Lady's gifts, which will be useful as well as beautiful, you know? I wouldn't call THEM trinkets."

He nodded. "You have my cloak already." He picked up his sheathed sword. "Sting I'll need, most assuredly." He looked up at me. "Right?"

I nodded. "Indubitably."

He reached for the one truly frivolous item he had--the book of Elven tales from Gandalf. "I would like to have this with me, but I fear for its safety, since I can't carry it in my pocket like the one you gave me last night." He sighed. "Will you keep it safe for me?" he asked.

I blinked. I would be traveling, but I already had my Tolkien books packed, one more would be just as safe as any of the rest of them. I knew that he and Sam returned from Mordor with the clothes on their backs, Sting, the Phial of Galadriel, and Sam's box with the mallorn seed and the dust from Lothlorien. Nowhere did Tolkien mention a book of fairy-tales.

"Of course, love. I'm glad you asked me, though, I would have felt very guilty talking you into it, but I know you wouldn't want harm to befall it."

He nodded. "As for these...they will always be with me." He pulled something flat and squarish out of his pocket--the picture I'd drawn him, and the small book I'd given him the night before.

I smiled. "Of course." I didn't tell him that the orcs would take everything from him after Shelob poisoned him. I could replace the book and draw hundreds, thousands more pictures after he returned. And perhaps, just perhaps, he would insist on searching for them and find them again anyway. Or maybe Sam would have sense to take them when he took the Phial and Sting and the Ring.

Frodo looked at the book and picture fondly for a moment, then slipped them back in his pocket. He handed me the big book of Elvish tales.

Thankfully, the day passed slowly. The longer it lasted the happier I was. That night, after dinner, Frodo and I went for a walk. We wandered along many walkways, passing flets left and right. After a while we followed stairs and ladders in a generally downward direction, and ended up in a small clearing partitioned off to some degree of privacy by mallorn saplings--or at least, mallorn trees not yet big enough to have structures built on them.

Frodo had not let go of my hand since we'd left the Fellowship, and at last, now that we were alone, he pulled me into his arms. I leaned against him, relaxing into his protective embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"So...tomorrow, first thing, we part again," he said.

I fought my tears for the moment. "Yeah. But it will be easier this time. Last time I thought I'd never see you again. This time there is an infinite amount of hope that I will."

"Infinite?" he asked, leaning his head to one side.

"Last time there was no possibility of it, but now, as long as there IS a possibility, then I have all hopes that the possibility will come true."

He nodded. "You know I love you, right?"

I kissed him in response. "Right. And you know I love you, right?"

Another kiss. "Right."

I smiled. "I hate to see you go, but I know you have to." I sighed. "I'd go with you if I wasn't so scared of making a wrong decision."

He sighed as well, leaning his forehead against mine. "I know."

There was a pause for a few moments, which I finally broke. "I thought of something last night, right before I fell asleep."

"What?"

I smiled again. "Things have changed. Our credo has to change."

"Our credo?"

"Yeah. Now it has to go differently." I hesitated. "We may not have now, but we will have forever."

He smiled, but he was tearing up. One single droplet overflowed, and I leaned forward and kissed it off his cheek, tasting the salt on my lips.

"Sarah?" he said, almost hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"You've given me hope, much hope. I don't know if you've said things to me about the future--our future--just to give me the strength for my quest, which you know I must complete, or if things really will turn out all right, but the one thing that I do not doubt is your love for me, regardless." He paused. "If I come back from Mordor alive..." He paused again, choked with emotion. "If I return, there is only one thing left that I could ever want, and that's--Sarah, if I come back alive, will you marry me?"

Now, suddenly, I started crying. Never in all my life had I thought that I would cry if or when I ever got proposed to.

My answer was obvious. "Yes!" I buried my face in his neck, and his grip on me tightened just a little. After a moment I pulled back to study his eyes, finding ecstasy and a little bit of disbelief there. "I love you. How could my answer be anything else?" I asked him, and the look on his face told me I'd read him right. I leaned in again and we softly kissed. "Remember last night when I made that wish?"

"Yes?"

I smiled. "It's a good thing I didn't tell you what I wished for. It just came true." Another kiss. "Frodo...I'll be waiting for you...WHEN you return." He was about to ask if I was telling him the truth or just trying to give him hope, but I put a finger over his lips to shush him, and looked him straight in the eyes, letting him find his answer in my own. At last he smiled, content with what had been said, both out loud and wordlessly.

"I will come back alive," he said huskily. "If only just to see you one last time."

"Don't talk like that. You'll see me many times."

"Even in Mordor your sight will always be before me."

I smiled. "The next month will be like forever."

"I know." He led me over near the mallorn wall and we sat, me in his lap, arms around his neck. "Sarah, I know that Legolas followed the tradition in your world and gave Shelly a ring, but..."

I put a finger over his lips. "With the _lovely_ part rings have played in your life this far, I'd just as soon abandon that tradition. It wouldn't be the only thing I renounced to be with you. Don't worry about it." I buried my forehead in the crook of his neck. "Are we going to tell everyone?"

"I'd just as soon not make a stir in the morning. I'll tell them all once we're on our way and make sure Sam and Merry and Pippin know to take care of you if--if not all goes well."

"I'll tell Shelly and Cody and Mike in my own sweet time, okay?"

"Whatever you wish, so long as they know before I return, all right?"

I nodded. "Of course."

Not too much later, we went back to the flet and ran into Shelly and Legolas on their way out. Shelly pulled me aside and told me that since nothing really happened the first several days the Fellowship was on the road, and with the way Elvish sleep worked, they had decided to stay awake all night. I asked her to wake Frodo and I with enough time to get dressed and down to the encampment and she agreed.

I crawled into bed next to Frodo. "Sarah Underhill...my life, my love, my fiancée," he said.

I smiled sleepily, crawling close against him. "Has a nice ring to it. Kind of like Sarah Grace Baggins." I put my forehead back into the crook of his neck. "I love you."


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty--

Shelly POV

After Aragorn announced that they would be leaving at sunrise, everyone was packing. Out of instinct I walked over to where Legolas was and started to help him. "What are you doing, mellamin?" he asked.

"Helping you pack," I said, smiling and folding his extra tunic.

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"Well," I said, grinning, "Number one, I want to, and number two, the sooner you get done, the sooner we have the night to ourselves."

Legolas grinned back. "Good point," he said. We continued packing for a few minutes.

"Do you have enough room for our picture?" I asked, quietly.

"Yes, plenty." We continued in silence for a few minutes. "Have you begun having any more dresses made?"

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"In Mirkwood, you will need many dresses. Plus I want you ready, because as soon as I come back we're going to be married," he said, brushing his lips over mine.

"I guess I can," I said slowly, not wanting to tell him I would not be staying in Lórien while they were gone.

"Good," Legolas said, satisfied. A few minutes later, we were almost done, but Legolas remembered he'd left some things at my flet. I told him I'd stay and finish packing. Once he was out of the clearing, Aragorn walked over to me.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Pretty well, considering my fiancé and the man I love as a father are both leaving me tomorrow," I said.

Aragorn pulled me into a hug. "I will miss you, child."

"I'll miss you as well, Ada," I said, letting a few tears overflow onto his shirt.

"Well, I wish I had something to give you that was worth as much as you are, but I want you to have these," he said, handing me a book and a package. As I looked through the book, I noticed it would have an Elvish word or an English word, then it would have a space next to it. "I thought you might want to practice writing your Elvish," he said, smiling. "Go on now, open the other one." I began to open the package. It was much larger than a book and it was a weird shape. I pulled the wrapping off to see a beautiful, new bow. "I figured that you would need one, since Legolas will obviously need his," Aragorn said, laughing.

"Thank you so much, Ada," I said, hugging him tightly. "I don't have anything for you, though."

"Shelly, you give me a gift every time I see you smile."

At that, I hugged him tighter. Suddenly, I heard someone behind me clear his throat. I turned to see my Legolas. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Look what Aragorn gave me," I said, turning and showing him the bow and book. Legolas smiled his approval and Aragorn left us alone.

Finally, Legolas and I were done packing. We headed back to our waterfall. We sat down and Legolas wrapped me in his arms.

"I can't believe you're really going," I said, "But at least I'll see you again."

Legolas smiled softly. "Once it is over, it will only seem as if a few days have passed. However, even a few days without your lovely face can make me miserable. This I know from experience," he said sweetly.

"We should stay up all night. After all, nothing will be able to track you for a few days, right?"

"Right..."

"Okay, great, let's go pick up my weapons and come back to the campsite. I have a small gift for Merry and Pippin that I've managed to keep hidden this entire month," I said, getting up and grabbing Legolas' hand. We walked back to the flet where I picked up my duffel bag, saw Frodo and Sarah, then walked back to the campsite. "Legolas, why don't you go and make sure everything is packed?" I said, pulling Merry and Pippin aside. Legolas looked at me, confused, but he complied. I hadn't even shown him the gift, and I didn't plan to let him know, either. Once he was out of elven hearing range, I turned to Merry and Pippin. "I have something for you guys," I said.

"What is it?" Merry asked.

I pulled out two two-liter bottles of Mountain Dew, which they took quickly and happily. "Now, guys, I want you to promise me that you will save these for a special occasion and not drink them both at the same time. I don't want you to waste them--they made my bag very heavy on the way here, Elven abilitie or no."

"Thanks, Shelly," Pippin said reverently.

"Oh, and don't tell Sarah or Mike that I gave these to you, they might kill me," I said, with a wink. "I'm gonna miss you guys." I pulled them both into a hug.

"We'll miss you too, Shelly." Merry said, kindly.

"Yeah, without you and Sarah, we won't have anyone to pick on," Pippin said, with a cheeky grin.

Legolas returned just then. "You have had my fiancée's attention long enough," he said, smiling, beginning to lead me away.

"Wait, I want to say good-bye to the others." Legolas nodded, realizing that there wouldn't be much time in the morning. I turned and went to Sam. "I'm not sure if I'll be there to see you off in the morning," I said, "But just in case I'm not, I want to say 'bye, Sam, I'll see you soon. But most of all, take care of Frodo. Don't leave him, no matter what he says." He smiled and accepted the hug I pulled him into.

"Thank you, Shelly. I won't lose him. Gandalf told me I couldn't, so I won't," Sam said, vehemently. I kissed him on the brow, then moved to the other side of the camp, where my favorite dwarf lay, about to go to sleep.

"Are you awake, Master Dwarf?" Aragorn said. "You have an elven visitor."

Gimli immediately shot up, but when he saw it was me, he frowned only slightly.

"I came to tell you 'bye, you stubborn old dwarf," I said.

Gimli grinned. "I bid you farewell. You are the third-most-beautiful elf I have ever laid eyes on, only beaten by the Lady Galadriel and the Lady Arwen."

"Thanks, Gimli, but I'm not all that. I'm sure gonna miss hearing your compliments, though. Legolas could do worse than to take a lesson from you," I said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. He turned bright red, then went back to his sleeping mat.

"Boromir," I said, walking over to the man still sitting by the fire. "How are you, my friend?"

"I'm not sure. I feel a happiness at finally being rid of this place and turning toward my homeland, but I have an apprehension about leaving you four humans here alone."

"Don't worry about us, Boromir. We'll be fine," I said. "I want you to know that when I first met you, I didn't like you very much, but now that I've gotten to know you, I adore you. I want to thank you for all the kindness you have shown me these past weeks. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't be engaged to Legolas. Never forget that Cody, Mike, Sarah, and I care very deeply about you. We'll miss you dearly." Of course, that was followed with a hug. I tried not to hug him longer than I had any of the others. I knew that if I survived, I would see the rest of them again, but Boromir would not survive and I was going to miss him very much. I gave him an extra squeeze then stood up. "Goodbye, Boromir, son of Denethor," I said, placing a tender kiss on his cheek. He smiled at me strangely.

Finally, I turned to Aragorn.

He smiled. "Legolas has told me that you plan to wander through the forest all night. I hope you enjoy yourself."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we will. I want you to know, I'm going to miss you, Ada. I want to give you something to remember your daughter by, and this is the best I can do." I slowly pulled out a leather notebook. "Promise me that you will keep a daily log that I can read once we meet again, but please, don't let Legolas know. You'll tell me the truth, and he won't. He'll embellish, and if anything happens to him he'll play it down. All I want to read is the truth," I said, quietly. "Please, Ada?"

"You know I will." Aragorn pulled me into a hug. "Now you better be off with your prince or he'll think you've forgotten him."

"I didn't, I've just saved the best and hardest for last," I said, pulling out of the hug. "See ya, Ada." With that, I took off running like a small elfling and tackled Legolas, knocking us both to the ground.

"Was that fun, dearest?" he asked me, once we were both upright again.

"Very much." I placed a soft kiss on his lips. "But I think I like that better." He laughed and we began walking through the woods together.

About halfway into the night, I asked, "Not to be nagging, but are your weapons ready for your trip?"

"Well, to tell the truth, I do need to work on a few arrows and sharpen my blades," he said, sheepishly. "I should have done it earlier, but I didn't want to be away from you."

"So let me help you. I need to learn how to sharpen blades anyway so I can take care of my own," I said. Legolas just kissed me.

Soon, we were in a lovely clearing. He was sitting with his back against a large mallorn tree and I was sitting across from him. He'd taught me how to sharpen his blades, so I was doing that, and he was working on arrows. As we sat there, I couldn't help but wonder how different our two blades were, so I pulled out one of mine and compared it to one of his. There were a few minor differences, like mine seemed to have different lettering on the blade, but they were mostly the same. In their own set they were gorgeous, but together, they looked unbelievably beautiful.

"Legolas, look," I said.

He did and he was as astounded as I was. I could tell by the way his jaw dropped open. "Together, they make a better whole than they did apart," he said, after a minute. "Even if they are slightly mismatched, they're more beautiful that way."

"Kind of like us, huh?" I whispered.

"Take one of my blades," he said, suddenly.

"What?" I said, clearly confused.

"Take one of my blades and I'll take one of yours. That way, we'll each carry a piece of our love with us at all times," he said, trading out the blades. "They are just like our love. Pretty apart, but absolutely brilliant together."

I grinned at that. "Oh, now that was sappy," I said, "But very beautiful." I leaned forward to kiss my prince.

Soon, the night was over and we had awoken Sarah and Frodo and were all heading to the campsite, when Haldir stopped me. "Shelly, the Lady requests your presense."

"Right now?"

"Yes, this minute."

"Okay, one moment."

"I guess we say good-bye here," I said, turning to Frodo. "Be good. Don't ever lose hope." I hugged the small hobbit and ruffled his hair.

"Make Sarah behave," he admonished me. I giggled and she mock-punched his arm.

After that, I turned to Legolas. He didn't quite smile. "I will not say good-bye, because I will see you again. I love you and will miss you, though." At that, Legolas pressed his lips against mine in a goodbye kiss that made me go weak in the knees and left my head reeling.

I hugged him one more time, then turned and walked away with Haldir, headed for the Lady's flet. I must admit, I was more than a little mad by the time I got there. That anger evaporated, though, once I found out what she was allowing me to do.

She walked me down to where the Fellowship was departing. I slipped on the grey robe she had provided and took my place in a line of elves that were all wearing either grey or white cloaks. I followed them to where the Fellowship was waiting, took the cloak they handed me, and kept my head down.

In unison, we placed the cloak in our hands on one member of the Fellowship. I wrapped the cloak around my assigned member of the Fellowship and began to fasten it with a brooch like the one I had seen Sarah wearing so many times, but he stilled my hand once he saw the ring upon it.

"Shelly," Legolas said breathlessly.

"Yes, my darling. Galadriel chose me to help clothe you," I said. "This is goodbye now, though. I love you, Legolas Greenleaf."

"And I you, Shelly Brown." He placed a chaste kiss upon my lips, and then I had to step back and take my place in the line of elves that were watching Galadriel give the Fellowship their gifts.


End file.
